Ameagari: After the Rain
by tamagopants
Summary: Pre AC, AUish: A story of the hardship of an unfortunate youth named Yazoo who has three brothers' worth of problems on his plate as they head to Nibelheim to find Sephiroth.
1. Temper Tantrums

**A/N:** Hey people, how are you all doing? This is my third fic, which, similarly to the others, stars the SHM with Yazoo as the leading man. The 1st chapter is Kadaj's POV to set the scene though.

This fic follows on from Ame ni Matte, my other story which bases on Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz when they were younger. In this fic, Kadaj is **12**, Yazoo is **17** and Loz is **18 - **this is important because I don't want complaints from people saying that they're way OOC or something.

Although it's been stated officially that Kadaj and co. are 'bodies of thoughts', I like to stick with them being clones, because 'bodies of thoughts' is a really lame, vague explanation. Blatantly Square Enix created such great characters, but couldn't quite explain how they got there.

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343GuiltySpark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 1: Temper Tantrums**

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Sector 5 Slums of Midgar was as dull as just about any part of the city. Dark unfriendly streets weaved under the metal plate that served as a poor replacement for the sky, and if someone were to head down the ghostly empty road that was 3rd Street, they would find near the end of it, between two grim houses, a narrow home with a single light on upstairs.

Due to its small size, the home could barely be suited to house three teenagers. Yet in the cramped hallway, the musty bedroom, the disordered living room and the cupboard under the stairs, there was an indefinable air that this was not just any place. The kitchen displayed clear evidence that someone had atrocious cooking skills; it was surely no coincidence that the small holes on the wooden board outside by the front door looked suspiciously like bullet impacts. And as it were, number 21 of 3rd Street housed three brothers who were far from normal.

At the age of twelve, Kadaj's hormones had kicked in, and he spent a lot of his days aggravating his brothers and deliberately causing them grief. He hadn't differed much in his personality, if truth be told. He was as childish, conceited and illogical as ever. Madness still flickered in those green eyes of his, his lunacy accentuated by his signature smirk that often played on his lips. However, in a blink of the eye, Kadaj could rearrange his face to feign innocence and sweet naïveté perfectly.

In the bedroom, it had gone without argument that Kadaj, by far the youngest and temperamental of the three, got the cushy spot: where the draught from the old window just missed him and where the carpet was in tact. He lay still on his sleeping bag, the back of one hand resting on his forehead. Kadaj's silver hair was kept short and jagged, with an asymmetrical parting where the tresses gathered more over his right eye. He had (secretly) been trying to grow it to match that of his older brother, but it was so irritating to feel the strands tickling his back and neck that he virtually lost it one day and begged the oldest brother for a haircut.

It wasn't unusual for the lamp to be on whilst they settled in their beds, and that was courtesy to the middle brother, Yazoo. He had grown up to take the reputation of being the most handsome of the three: a tall, lithe seventeen-year-old that moved with effortless grace. His long, sleek hair tickled the pages of his book as he lay on his front, immersed in it and paying very little attention to anything else. In fact, it was common to have to address Yazoo twice before he responded. Yazoo had the cool air of composure and pensiveness but underneath it, there was a complex personality that was difficult for even his brothers to decipher.

On the three's rare outings together, Yazoo seldom participated actively in conversations, and to suit his character, he said absolutely nothing to strangers unless they said something first. And even if they did, it was highly likely that Yazoo would respond with a cutting remark, or simply a deadpan look. On first impressions, Yazoo could be labelled as withdrawn. He could even be labelled as shy. But he knew, and both his brothers knew, that Yazoo was far from it, and it was best to leave him as he was.

Kadaj liked the enigmatic air that surrounded his brother Yazoo. He sometimes wished that he could have the same powerful mystery, the inscrutable look in his eyes, the small smile that hinted he knew something you didn't. But Kadaj found it difficult to hide his emotions, and stop with his childishness that inevitably meant he could never be mysterious.

From under his hand and fringe, Kadaj watched Yazoo turn the page. The little rustling initiated by the book irritated Kadaj.

"I want the light off."

He moved the hand on his forehead to rest over the blankets, ensuring that his peeved expression could be seen. The furrowed eyebrows, pouting lips, narrowed eyes. It was perfect.

Yazoo didn't even look at him. He merely spoke, his voice low and placid, and continued to set his gaze on the tattered book. "Two more pages."

Kadaj stared. It went unnoticed. The book had captured all of Yazoo's attention successfully. The pea green eyes were moving from left to right, the slender hand was poised, ready to turn the page.

Kadaj sat up. "No, I want it off _now_."

He spoke clearly, firmly. It had the desired effect. Yazoo finally looked up from the book, eyeing Kadaj for a few wordless moments before reaching out to turn off the lamp. Triumphant, Kadaj settled back down in his bed, listening for the sound of Yazoo next to him.

Sure enough, there was some movement. Kadaj's eyes adjusted to the unlit room, and he was not at all impressed to see a willowy figure step over the sleeping bags to the door. Yazoo was as refined in the dark as he was by day.

The door opened and closed, briefly allowing for the landing light to illuminate the bedroom. And Kadaj saw Yazoo. Cotton pyjamas clothing long legs and a slim torso, jutting elbows and skinny waist. Book in hand.

"Niisan!"

There was nothing at first, but then, the door opened a fraction. Kadaj was in his sitting position again. At the far end of the room, the oldest brother rolled over.

"What is it Kadaj?"

Yazoo was stood at the door, still as ever. Kadaj ran his tongue over his dry lips. How could his brother not tell that he was hurt? Why would Yazoo choose to leave the room?

The book had to be really good.

"Come back here, you don't need to read." Kadaj laughed hopefully. "Come back here. Read in the morning."

Yazoo didn't reply. Kadaj waited. Subsequently, the door closed, and Yazoo was out of sight once more. Releasing a growl of frustration, Kadaj pushed back his hair and contemplated unleashing his fury by throwing the lamp. But even that wouldn't resolve his anger, if anger was the right word to describe his childish tantrums. All he wanted was for Yazoo to tear his eyes away from that book for once and sleep next to him; it wasn't too much to ask for.

"Loz!" Kadaj hissed through the dark after a few minutes. "Loz, are you awake?"

The oldest brother, Loz, made no sign that he had heard him. Sleeping soundly was one of the many things Loz could do which neither of his brothers could. Whilst Kadaj took hours to drift off, and Yazoo was a light sleeper anyway, Loz could drop off in a matter of seconds. There was very little that could rouse him, though this was the complete opposite when he was awake.

Kadaj could never understand how Loz could be so expressive about anything. The oldest displayed a passion for cooking and cleaning, and had a talent for being able to spot the beauty in things. He was frequently teased by both brothers (though admittedly, Yazoo was very tactful, knowing when to draw the line) for being simple-minded and although looking nothing like one, a bit of a cry baby.

Loz differed from Yazoo and Kadaj in terms of looks as well, where instead of a skinny, scrawny body, he was muscular, bulky and tough; his hair was kept short, swept away from his face. His love for cooking came only second to that of his workouts; he had forced open the back door of their house, and now used the backyard as a workspace for his stretches and exercise. With only one year between the two of them, Yazoo and Loz were often absorbed in conversations that Kadaj either failed to understand or pay attention to. He'd watch the two talk as they trained together: Loz's audible chuckle and twinkling eyes, Yazoo's quiet laugh and averted gaze.

"Loz, wake up!" Kadaj tried again.

Predictably, there was no response. Kadaj flopped back down in bed, his sigh fluttering the tips of his fringe. The silence continued, leaving Kadaj alone to dwell on his absent thoughts. It was a few minutes before once again, the door opened and Yazoo's silhouette could be seen before the hallway's light was switched off. Yazoo slid into bed beside Kadaj, the sheets ruffling quietly.

"Did you finish your chapter?" Kadaj tried to keep his voice indifferent, telling himself the answer didn't matter, but something told him that Yazoo knew that he was the careless attitude was pretend. Yazoo's reply was delayed, not because of hesitance, but simply due to the fact that the middle brother always took plenty of consideration in what he said.

"I went downstairs to check the front door was locked. And turn off all the lights."

"Oh, right," Kadaj smiled. "The book wasn't too good then?"

There was a chuckle, so faint that Kadaj almost wondered if he had imagined it. But it was definitely there, and Yazoo, who had been looking up at the peeling ceiling, looked over at him.

"…I read it at the same time."

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Kadaj was the first to get up the next morning. Loz was still fast asleep, curled up at the end of the room with the top of his head very close to the wall. Yazoo was half-awake, eyes staring into space with one hand fingering the sheets and silver tresses fanned out on the pillow, ruffled yet elegant. Then again, Kadaj noted as he pulled himself out of bed, there wasn't anything about Yazoo that wasn't elegant.

"Are you awake or sleeping with your eyes open?" Kadaj nudged the middle brother's arm. Yazoo's eyes flitted very slightly. Then, wordlessly, he sat up, pushing his hair out of his eyes and looking over at Loz.

"Niisan. Wake up."

Kadaj watched uninterestedly as Yazoo tapped Loz's shoulder.

"…Fifteen more minutes," came the muffled answer. Yazoo's expressionless face didn't change.

"Five."

"Ten."

"Okay." Yazoo got up and walked past Kadaj, and after a few moments (where Kadaj was pondering whether to throw the blankets off Loz – he decided not to), followed. The worn carpet that lined the stairs and landing felt rough against his bare feet as he stepped out the bedroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Kadaj was never the person to make breakfast, so he climbed onto the counter, banging his heels against the cupboard underneath, and waited for Yazoo to finish showering and give him food. It was a good twenty minutes, by which time Loz had also lumbered down the stairs. He nodded his head in greeting, ducking down to open the cupboard and at the same time, shift Kadaj's legs out of the way.

" Yazoo's making breakfast."

"Well, I'm in the kitchen before he is, so it looks like I'm making it." Loz closed the cupboard door with a foot, washing his hands and rolling up his sleeves. His T-shirt ruffled a little, and at his waist, a long-barrelled gun rested in its holster comfortably.

"Are you going to shoot someone today?"

"What?" Loz looked up from the eggs he had been cracking. "No, I'm training after breakfast."

Kadaj shrugged, frowning and looking away. No doubt Yazoo was going to train as well. Loz stirred the eggs, whistling and oblivious to Kadaj's miserable mood.

"I don't want eggs for breakfast." Kadaj spoke up after a few minutes of silence had passed. Loz only cheered up more, cutting off the whistling and smiling.

"Course you do. It's scrambled eggs, your favourite."

"It's not my favourite anymore."

Kadaj was pleased to see Loz lose some of his content air and sigh. The oldest brother stirred more vigorously, tipping the pan and giving him a weary look. Just as Kadaj was about to be reprimanded, Yazoo entered the small kitchen, as usual having nothing to say and making no sound. His entrance was always quiet and passive, but that didn't mean it was unnoticed.

The youngest brother slid off the counter, joining Yazoo at the counter next to Loz. Slender hands were working a knife, peeling the skin off an apple. It was the usual breakfast, Kadaj observed. Whilst Loz cooked up an expert serving of eggs and bacon, Yazoo opted for the simplistic sandwiches he shared with Kadaj. The apple came afterwards, where Kadaj ate the juicy part in the middle, and Yazoo took the peel.

"Loz and I'll be going out today." Yazoo spoke softly, still peeling the apple and not bothering to look at the brother at his side. "Do you want to come?"

"Not really. I can't shoplift, and that's your job anyway." Kadaj took the knife out of Yazoo's hand and examined it idly. "Do you want me to?"

Yazoo was smiling. A small tug at the corners of his mouth that Kadaj probably wouldn't have been able to see if he wasn't so close.

"…Would I have asked otherwise?"

Loz chuckled, giving Yazoo an amiable grin. "I dunno, Yazoo, you're a bit ambiguous these days."

Kadaj was about to ask what 'ambiguous' meant, but the movement of Yazoo's left arm caught his eye, and to his mild surprise, Yazoo took out a sheet of paper.

"They finished making Souba."

Kadaj knew that Yazoo was expecting for him to jump up and down with joy. So he didn't. He merely shrugged, pulling his sandwiches onto his plate.

"That was years ago. I don't care about it."

Loz made an audible tut at the ingratitude that was evident, but Kadaj was more interested in Yazoo's reaction. Only to find the middle brother didn't really have one.

"Okay then." The paper slid back into the jeans pocket underneath Yazoo's loose shirt. Kadaj scowled. It was plainly obvious that sooner or later, Yazoo was going to throw one of his bitchy moods that were worse than Kadaj's tempers. He walked round, lifted up Yazoo's shirt and took out the piece of paper.

"Fine, I'll go. Just to keep you happy."

"Out of curiosity more like," Loz replied airily. "I'd like to know what it is…"

Loz looked wistful for a moment, lost in thought and forgetting that his scrambled eggs were going cold.

Seeing his own brother curious made Kadaj ponder too about what this Souba was. That then led onto thoughts of if he'd be able to use it in the first place, whether he'd find his mother quicker with it. Maybe, if he didn't like it, he could swap with Loz and use a pile bunker instead. Then again, Dual Hound would no doubt slip off his skinny arm or pull it out of its socket even. Velvet Nightmare, Yazoo's trusted weapon, could also be another option for Kadaj, but of what he had seen of it, it looked difficult to handle one, let alone two.

Kadaj snapped out of his daydream, and to his fury, realised that both brothers had left the kitchen, leaving him by himself with a plate of sandwiches clutched against him. He glared at nothing in particular, and made his way to the living room to tell them off.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading until the end :) I'm sorry if I kept Kadaj a bit too childish in this - let's just say that he hasn't matured at all since Ame ni Matte. Loz got a minor part as usual (why do I always do that!), but never mind - I'll make sure he gets a big part in the next one.

Please be nice and send a review - I really want to know what you think of it :)


	2. No 'Niisan'

**A/N:** Loz actually has a main part in this chapter - I didn't shun him away this time :) This is Yazoo and Loz based, so not much Kadaj I'm afraid. Thank you for the reviews I got for the previous chapter - as it was the first chapter, I'm so glad that I got lots of feedback!

Anyways, please read and review!

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 2: No 'Niisan'**

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A few drops of rain met the three brothers' heads and shoulders, signalling the end of an afternoon shower. The deserted street had several shallow puddles, which would've reflected a clearing orange sky if the plate wasn't above them. Kadaj, who hated the feeling of rain on him, jammed a woolly blue hat on his head with unmistakable frustration. Yazoo personally thought that his youngest brother looked like a miniature thug with the hat so low over his eyes. He decided not to comment, where on the contrary, Loz stopped midway through tying his scarf round his neck and cast an incredulous look at him.

"Oy, will you be able to see where you're going? I don't want you knocking into me."

Under the shadow of the hat, behind the strands of a silvery fringe, a pair of green eyes glared up at him.

"Course I can, oaf. You're the one whose eyes are too small."

Loz raked his short hair, giving Yazoo a tired look. "See the cheek of him these days?"

"Oh yeah, just bring Yazoo into this like how you always do."

"What do you mean, like how I always do?" Loz kicked the pavement and narrowly missed hitting the back of Kadaj's leg. Yazoo wondered when it was going to stop raining.

"You need Yazoo to side with everything you say, don't you? What is he, the other half of your brain?" Kadaj turned round to face Loz, walking backwards and sticking out his tongue. Yazoo saw one slightly discoloured slab of concrete compared to the rest of the pavement. "Hang on, where's the other half? 'Cause it definitely ain't in your head."

"Oh well done, good joke," Loz muttered sarcastically, "I suppose you spent the whole of yesterday coming up with that one."

"You'd take a week." Kadaj snickered, walking backwards faster as Loz made a threatening few steps forward. "Wouldn't he, niisan?"

"Look who wants Yazoo to side with him now," grumbled Loz. Kadaj tugged Yazoo's shirt sleeve fiercely.

"Hello? Niisan?"

Yazoo started, forgetting about his muses. "Hmm, what?"

Typically, Kadaj treated him to a glare, throwing his arms up in the air in desperation. Yazoo was under the impression that Kadaj was feeling dramatic today.

"Never mind, switch yourself back off again."

Kadaj ran a few metres ahead, splashing through a particularly large puddle and cursing loudly. When Loz and Yazoo had caught up with him, they crossed an empty road and walked to the building that stood on the corner.

Since it was the early evening, it was expected for The Grape Vine to be crowded. Yazoo could smell the strong stench of beer and smoke from cigars and cigarettes, merely by standing outside of the pub. The windows looked as though they hadn't seen a sponge and bucket of soapy water for a good few years, the bricked wall outside was ready to crumble any moment, and there was the audible sound of the deep voices of men shouting.

Still, business was business.

Kadaj took out the sheet of paper in his pocket, studying it. His lips spelt out the word 'Souba' soundlessly. He heaved a big sigh – clearly, walking to the weapon store was a waste of his time.

"So, I'll meet you back here?" There was no enthusiasm in his voice at all, despite the fact that he was to be getting a nice gift and that he was allowed to walk by himself for the first time.

"That's right." Yazoo bent a little so that he was level with Kadaj, tapping the piece of paper. "You'll want to keep that in your pocket because it's still raining a little. Remember to show it to that man, Mr Frest, and be polite."

At this, Loz stifled a snort, looking away. Yazoo ignored him, and pushed up Kadaj's hat a fraction so that it didn't sit over his ears. Kadaj swatted his hand away.

"Don't go all namby-pamby on me, damnit!"

He turned on his heel and walked down the road away from them, still holding the piece of paper in his hand where drops of rain fell on it. Yazoo watched the youngster go on ahead, looking so small and out of place. Before Kadaj turned the corner out of sight, he faced his brothers and made a rude gesture with his hand.

"Do you think I overdid it with the hat?" Yazoo asked his brother. Loz placed his hands behind his head, stretching.

"Just a tad. You were getting a bit – what's the word, namby-pamby – with him." Loz chuckled. "Namby-pamby. Kadaj picks up on strange vocab all right."

"Think he'll be alright?" said Loz after a few moments. "He's never been out by himself. He might get abducted."

"Then pray that the potential abductors have the sense not to pick Kadaj," Yazoo replied, adding, "for their sake."

Loz nodded fervently, and headed up the grey steps to the waiting door. The pub was familiar to both brothers, and some men who were already there nodded their heads in greeting. Of course, only Loz greeted them back, whilst Yazoo kept behind him, looking elsewhere.

"How you doin' Loz?" A burly man in his early twenties, who, if Yazoo remembered properly, was called Kirk, lumbered over to the eldest brother and took out some money from his pocket. "What's in the bag today, mate?"

Loz set the bag down on a chair, which groaned under the weight in protest. Out from it came several razors, can openers and batteries. A gruff voice – one that was alarmingly close to Yazoo – spoke up from behind him.

"Why've you guys got all that stuff?"

Kirk answered his question, handing some money over to Loz in exchange for a razor.

"What d'ya think? It's their living, innit. They sell these, I buy 'em at a good price. Razors these days are jus' too damn expensive." Kirk scratched the side of his neck lazily. "That right, Loz? We're business partners."

"You could say that," Loz replied, taking a generous amount of money from another man, who wordlessly took a load of batteries and skulked off to play snooker again. "We sell at less than half price to that of normal stores."

Other people were becoming more interested, crowding round; Kirk's booming advertising wasn't helping either. Yazoo ducked under someone's large elbow and took a seat at a table for two. It was situated in the corner of the pub, away from the bustle and shadowed into darkness. Yazoo was glad to be out of sight. Moments passed as he studied the menu card in front of him, then the empty ashtray. Thoughts wondered to how Kadaj was, whether the youngster had seen Souba yet.

Yazoo knew that from the kitchen window, Kadaj would watch his brothers train together. Though this was never mentioned between any of them, it was clear that Kadaj felt left out. And at the age of twelve, surely Kadaj was old enough…Yazoo wanted to train with Kadaj too, see his brother's genuine grin once more with that childishness of his…

"You're drifting. Again." Loz slumped down on the chair diagonal to that of Yazoo's, stretching his legs out and sighing. "What's on your mind?"

Yazoo moved his gaze away from the blackened ashtray; Loz's eyes were kept on him. Nearby, several young women giggled stridently, passing pints along to one another.

"…There's a lot on my mind, niisan," Yazoo chose to answer.

"Kadaj, huh." Loz tapped an index finger against his chin. "Kid's been a lot more distant lately. Were we like that at that age?"

Yazoo gave his brother a shadowy smile, giving Loz a bit of time to make sense of the question he had just asked. Loz then laughed quietly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay, so you've always been distant," he admitted. "But for Kadaj to, you know – start shunning as away…I don't really like it."

Yazoo watched concern flit across Loz's usually untroubled face. A fine line creased the area between his eyebrows, and eyes glazed over.

"Can I get you gentlemen anything?"

It took Loz around three seconds to realise that he and Yazoo were the gentlemen in question. He jumped, his elbow knocking the menu card and sending it off the edge of the table. The waitress who had addressed him was doing a poor job in hiding her laughter, watching Loz pick up the card, flustered. The temptation to treat that waitress to one of his fierce glares crossed Yazoo's mind, but he refrained from doing so when he noticed Loz was also laughing.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, "I'm not usually jumpy --"

"No worries," the waitress answered. She jiggled the pen in her hand, dark eyes flickering as she batted her eyelashes. "What can I get you?"

"Hot chocolate and black coffee," Loz answered promptly. Yazoo peered out of the musty window whilst waiting, once again lost in thought. He could hear his brother talking to the waitress animatedly (something along the lines of hot chocolate – food was Loz's favourite topic), and with very little attention, Yazoo ran a finger across the pearl handle of his Velvet Nightmare, lodged against his thigh and hidden under his long white shirt.

He and Loz had got into a fight with some other pub goers once. Whilst Loz had tried to reason things out sensibly and fairly, Yazoo could remember himself reaching for Velvet Nightmare as though it was second nature to him, shattering the vibrant chatter of the pub into piercing screams. Yazoo assumed that people naturally felt wary around him and his brothers for who they were – or who they weren't, for that matter – and for the reason of safety, Velvet Nightmare never left his side.

"Good job I ordered that coffee for you, you look a bit sleepy."

Yazoo looked away from the window to where Loz sat diagonal to him, arms behind his head, leaning on the back legs of his chair.

"Sorry, niisan," Yazoo said, "I was gone again."

Loz's chair dropped back onto four legs, making a dull noise. The oldest brother leaned forwards, head ducking down slightly so that he could see past Yazoo's curtain of hair.

"If you're worrying about Kadaj, he's just going through his moody stage…they call it puberty, and--"

"I'm glad you've read _Family Health_ from cover to cover," Yazoo interrupted, shaking his head, "but I don't think that explains what to do when your younger brother feels more at ease talking to someone in his head, rather than us."

The two were silent for a moment. A group of men cheered as someone performed a snooker trick.

"…I never knew Kadaj still did that."

"You wouldn't. You're always asleep, niisan." Yazoo prodded Loz's elbow teasingly, a smile creeping onto his face. He found however, that a rare look of abrupt shyness had come onto his brother's face.

"…That reminds me of something, Yazoo." Loz clasped his hands together, resting them on the table. Yazoo was under the impression that Loz was being very business-like. "I, uh, I'd…"

"You don't have to feel nervous around me." Yazoo kept his voice level and deferential, but it seemed to be having an adverse effect on his brother.

"I know, I know," he muttered, waving a hand. "It's just…I don't particularly, I mean, not particularly, but…"

Yazoo had never seen Loz so inarticulate. Loz took a deep breath, raked his hair, and tried again.

"…I don't want to be called niisan anymore." Loz eyed Yazoo nervously, his gaze apologetic. Yazoo was surprised, to say the least. He had always called Loz 'niisan', always…

"Why not?"

Loz became more uncomfortable, but Yazoo forced himself topay no mindit. He had to know why it was so wrong to say 'niisan'. He stared at Loz until their gazes met.

"…It don't sound right anymore," mumbled Loz. Yazoo edged a bit closer so that he could hear him. "We're nearly the same age, and I don't like being reminded I'm older than you…Don't look at me like that Yazoo."

Yazoo stopped looking at him altogether, rubbing the side of his neck and watching some people play snooker together. He often wondered how that game worked. Feeling irritable and slightly offended, he said nothing for a while, keeping his eyes on the rectangular table, as different coloured balls shot across it, and several people whooped and cheered.

"…Plain old Loz will do."

Yazoo let a resigned sigh escape his lips. "…All right then. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I'll call you Loz."

"Thanks, Yazoo."

The silence returned, only to be interrupted when the waitress returned with their orders. She seemed to make a bit of a fuss in aligning Yazoo's napkin, where Loz commented teasingly that Yazoo had got himself an admirer.

"You've forgotten our No Girlfriend Policy," Yazoo replied smoothly. "Kadaj'd do his nut if one of us got a girlfriend."

Loz was about to reply, but something more significant had caught his – and admittedly, the whole pub's – attention. The door had burst open with extreme force, banging against the coat pegs on the wall.

"Shit, there's a third one!" Kirk had dropped his snooker cue in surprise.

"Ain't he a bit young to be in a pub?"

Yazoo leapt to his feet, as had Loz, to discover that Kadaj had stormed inside, and on closer inspection, noticed that the youngest brother was struggling to fight back tears.

"Kadaj, what happened?" Loz stretched out his arms in what was meant to be a comforting gesture, but Kadaj was having none of it. His eyes displayed nothing but fury, and to Yazoo's surprise, they were locked on him.

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**A/N:** I remembered from the AC movie that Yazoo calls Loz by his name, so that's why I stuck this part in. Hopefully, it shows that Yazoo's a bit more open with Loz :) As a side note, the inspiration for shoplifting came from one of my psychology classes (which was actually interesting for once) – it's been recorded in Britain that the most commonly stolen good is the razor :)

Anyways, please be nice and leave a review – I need to know what you think!


	3. Turkish Delight

**A/N:** -Waves sheepishly- Hello...remember me? This is an awfully late update, but it's here now so your waiting's finished! And in my absence from this fic, 41 reviews! Thank you so much everyone! You're the greatest! -dances-

The plot unfolds in this chapter, I'm glad I thought of one or else this'd be a fic with nothing much going on. Just as a side note, Lorna and Marshal are my OC Turks from my other fic.

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh- Except! My OCs Lorna and Marshal - they're mine, but you don't want them anyway :)

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 3: Turkish Delight**

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It was astonishing how Yazoo could feel intimidated by his twelve year old brother. It was arguable though that Kadaj was more than a moody youngster. The whole of the Grape Vine had noticed it. People looked away from their games of pool or darts; the waitress stropped midway of serving drinks.

To the casual eye, Kadaj would seem like an innocent youth with the scuffed trainers, hooded jacket and woolly hat. But those impressions could be dashed simply by looking at the green orbs behind the silvery fringe. Kadaj had always had the talent to glare, but Yazoo swore it had strengthened over the years.

Loz was the one who broke the silence.

"So uh…where's Souba, Kadaj?"

He was ignored. Instead, the youngest crossed the room to Yazoo, stumbling over a frayed rug as he went. A middle-aged man coughed lightly and resumed his game of darts. The usual bustle of the pub returned hesitantly. The group of girls started gossiping again; Kirk ordered another pint. Kadaj wiped under his nose before speaking.

"I never want to do anything like that ever again, you hear me?"

Yazoo nodded dumbly. He had no idea what Kadaj was talking about, but thankfully, he elaborated.

"Next time I go anywhere, you two can come with me instead of slacking off! I nearly got lost, and some car-thingy almost ran me over!" Yazoo saw Loz cringe out the corner of his eye. Kadaj wasn't done yet; he grabbed hold of the bottom of Yazoo's shirt aggressively. "And I've decided when I was coming back here, that I don't want to listen to you ever again! Ever!"

The insecurity and desire for attention had awoken in Kadaj once again, Yazoo observed. It was coming more and more often. People were beginning to look again at the sound of Kadaj's rising voice. Loz took the initiative and steered Kadaj out of the pub by the shoulder. Yazoo quickly took some gil out from his pocket, putting it on the table, next to his unfinished coffee, before heading for the door as well. He could hear Kadaj still rambling on.

Yazoo raked his hair in thought. Was Kadaj really that upset that he was by himself? Surely there had to be more than that. Yazoo had genuinely thought Kadaj would have liked a bit of freedom. Perhaps he was a bit too patronising.

Loz's initial question of where Souba was was answered when Yazoo left the pub. He stepped out just in time to see Kadaj kick a long black box across the pavement with intended force. It rolled off the kerb onto the side of the road, unwanted.

"Leave that thing Loz, I don't want it," Kadaj breathed as he glared at them both in turn.

Loz stopped reaching out for the box. Yazoo looked away. So that was it. Kadaj was offended because Souba didn't suit his tastes. It was typical for Kadaj to become so incensed about such a little thing.

"That's right," Kadaj hissed. He seemed to have noticed Yazoo was hurt. "I hate that thing. I'd much rather use a kitchen fork than that…_thing_. I hate it. I said _leave it_! _Listen to me_!"

Loz had picked up Souba's box. Yazoo stared at him. Surely the eldest knew the best way to solve these arguments was to let Kadaj have his way. But his grip was firm on the box.

"Listen to me!" Kadaj shrieked again.

Yazoo almost covered his ears with his hands. Kadaj's face was red, and it was clear to the eye that Loz would start his waterworks any moment.

"No, Kadaj, listen to me." Loz spoke with audible effort that tried to disguise the nervousness in his voice. "If you want to be angry with someone, that ought to be me. I didn't buy you anything. I know Souba disappointed you, but carry on with that ungrateful attitude towards Yazoo, and I'll deck you."

It wasn't much of a threat at all, but Yazoo was inwardly grateful Loz had said it. It was all rather surprising. Kadaj seemed to think so too, since he had made no retort. Loz bent down to tie one of his shoelaces, evading eye contact with either of his brothers. Souba's box rested at his side. In Yazoo's experience, an avoidant position like that usually meant Loz was crying. Sure enough, as Yazoo bent down at his side, there were the telltale round splotches on the pavement, slightly darker than the drying spots of afternoon rain.

"Nii…I mean, Loz?" Yazoo shook his shoulder.

"S'okay." Loz gave him a watery smile. "I was tying my shoelace."

"Okay." Yazoo decided not to press with the shoelace matter (which had never been untied in the first place). He noticed Kadaj had moved to sit on a bricked wall sullenly. After a few moments, Yazoo chose to join him. Loz sat on the far end of the wall, turned away. He was probably still rather embarrassed, surprised even, by his uncharacteristic outburst, Yazoo assumed. He also realised Kirk and a few of his friends were peering out of the pub window at them, and suppressed his urge to draw Velvet Nightmare.

"Give it here," Kadaj muttered suddenly. He pulled Souba away from Loz's lap, and held the box to his chest so possessively, his knuckles were white. Yazoo felt his gaze on him, and met Kadaj's eyes. It was clear the youngest had been affected somewhat by Loz's words. He looked awkward and very lightly, punched Yazoo's arm.

"…It's alright. I'll…keep it after all. It's just…" He shifted, disconcerted. "It's just that I thought maybe…I'd get a gun like yours."

"You don't want to copy me," Yazoo replied.

"Loz does."

"You know that's not true." Yazoo smiled weakly, watching as Loz blew his nose, hiding his tearful face from his brothers. Kadaj was silent for a minute, before muttering, "Say, niisan, what does 'motley' mean?"

Yazoo looked up from his shirt sleeve. "In what context? It usually means an assortment of things or people that don't seem to belong together."

Kadaj shrugged. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. "At the shop, she was going on about us being motley or something. Least, that's what I think she said, she had a bit too much gum in her mouth."

"She?" Yazoo repeated. Since when had Mr Frest been a woman? Then he did a double take. A woman chewing gum? "Kadaj, was a man with her?"

"Yeah."

Yazoo stood up straight, getting off the wall. "Loz, we're going."

The eldest was still sniffing. Yazoo couldn't help but laugh, mainly from exasperation. "Are you still crying? The argument wasn't even directed at you."

"So? That doesn't mean I like them."

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The three reached Frest's Weaponry store in a matter of minutes. They only stopped to stroke a stray cat when Kadaj found it lurking behind a milk crate. Frest's store was as untidy as ever, with forms littered around the counter, boxes of cartridges piled up on a windowsill and cracked glass display cases. To Yazoo's dismay, it was not Frest sat at the counter, but two faces he had seen four years ago. Loz seemed to recognise them as well since he had stumbled backwards instinctively, but Kadaj, who was only eight at the time, had evidently forgotten them.

Marshal was lighting a cigarette with gloved hands. His blazer looked as though it hadn't seen the dry cleaners for a good few months. It was crinkled at the elbows, and one of the lapels was at an odd angle.

Lorna's uniform was still crisp; several gum wrappers were scattered where her feet rested on the counter. There was a strong smell of peppermint around her. On closer inspection, Yazoo could see that her sharp looking features had been tainted somewhat. There were dark shadows under her eyes, and her forehead was creased with lines. Perhaps the job of being a Turk had finally taken its toll. Nevertheless, as she greeted them, there was still that businesslike tone.

"See, Marshal? I told you they'd come along. They don't seem to be afraid of us anymore." She looked at Yazoo the longest. "I suppose you don't remember us."

"You know them?" Kadaj asked incredulously.

"Don't look so surprised. We're Turks. We were originally assigned to help you guys before you ran away." Marshal tossed his cigarette into an overflowing bin. "Though we scared off Frest when we told him Hojo wants to arrange a meeting with him, our mission has otherwise gone very smoothly. So let's not ruin that. We have some nice news to tell you."

"Have you found our Mother?"

Yazoo almost smiled at Kadaj's hopeful suggestion, but he knew that that would never be the case.

"What?" Marshal replied. "I was being sarcastic when I said nice. Here, take a look at this."

He tossed a newspaper onto the counter. Loz got there first, taking the sheets and studying them with very little interest. Yazoo too, was finding it difficult to not plummet into one of his daydreams again, but that was before Loz made an odd noise between a cough and a laugh, and passed the paper to him.

"Let me look." Kadaj pulled on Yazoo's elbow, and he complied. He swore the room had all of a sudden grown colder. The headline of the newspaper…Yazoo definitely wasn't reading it wrong…

"Yazoo?" Loz cast a tentative look at him, but Yazoo couldn't think of an answer. According to the newspaper, something terrible had happened…Sephiroth had died…

"We're sorry for your loss." Lorna spoke with very little remorse in her voice, fingers unwrapping her umpteenth stick of chewing gum.

Loz and Yazoo exchanged looks, mirroring confusion and fear. It seemed so stupid that moments ago, they had been fighting about a sword, when matters like these were around. However, to their surprise, and to the Turks' undoubtedly, Kadaj had burst out laughing.

"Sephiroth's dead? You came here to tell me that?" He threw the newspaper onto the floor. "If Sephiroth's dead, I would know. He lives in me."

"Great, looks like he _has_ been brainwashed by Hojo," Marshal muttered out the corner of his mouth. He turned back to Kadaj. "See, kid, as much as you admire him, he doesn't need your permission before he snuffs it."

Lorna straightened her tie absently. "Though we can't go too much into detail, it's been confirmed that he is dead. Whether you believe it or not isn't important."

"Then what is?" Loz crossed his arms. "You've waited for all three of us to see you, there must be something more than telling us that…that…"

"Sephiroth's apparently dead." Kadaj completed his sentence for him, rolling his eyes. One foot nudged the newspaper carelessly. "I mean, judging by your IDs, you work for ShinRa. And ShinRa owns the newspapers. You could write anything. It's all a lie, that stuff about Sephiroth. I know it."

Loz nodded in agreement; he seemed to be casting away his doubts by doing so. A confident look crossed his face. Yazoo wished he could be reassured that easily. He bent down and picked up the newspaper, checking the date. Kadaj noticed what he was doing, and grinned smugly.

"See, Sephiroth's been dead for a week, according to this. So how come, over this week, I haven't felt any different?"

"Because," Lorna said. The sigh escaping from her lips further added to her patronising attitude. "You're not Sephiroth, are you? Even if you do 'sense' him, as Hojo calls it, that doesn't mean you know everything about him. For your information, Sephiroth doesn't even know a cocky brat like you actually exists in this world, if 'exist' is the right term for you."

This struck a nerve in all three brothers. Kadaj clenched his fists, teeth bared. Yazoo made a move forward, but Loz had got in front of him, banging a strong fist onto the counter.

"Talk about my brother like that again, and we'll have to take it outside."

"We won't even need to go outside." Yazoo spoke at last, attempting to keep his voice level. He could feel anger boiling inside of him; how dare that woman say something so rude to Kadaj…he'd teach her, he wasn't a lost little boy anymore…

"My, aren't you touchy," Lorna replied dryly. "That small dig of mine was nothing compared to what's written in here."

Her legs swung off the counter, nearly hitting Marshal. She picked up three files, all ready to burst with the amount of paper in them.

"Here's the reason why we came." She dumped a file in Yazoo's arms, doing the equivalent to Loz and Kadaj. The peeling label on the front of Yazoo's file read '2-4-A'. He was rather revolted that a whole file was dedicated to him and his progress as a specimen, and refrained from opening it.

"Forgive me if I got your labels wrong." Lorna shrugged indifferently, resuming her seat with legs propped up. "Those files are your life summed up. They're to be returned to their rightful owners."

"Rightful?" Loz looked up from his open file. "What's that meant to mean?"

"Hojo's dismissed you," Marshal said simply. "The death of Sephiroth has struck up a lot of questions, particularly with his research, and his budget isn't big enough to fund new research as well as old ones. Since no one wants to continue Hojo's research on Projects Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj, you're free to go."

"We were free to start off with," Kadaj spat. His file was also open, and suddenly fearing what might be inside of it, Yazoo took it from the youngest brother's arms and stacked it on top of his file. Loz closed his file, giving Yazoo a guilty look – he could never quite control his curiosity.

"Technically, you were all ShinRa property," said Lorna, "but due to circumstances, this has changed, for everyone's benefit. Hojo has new specimens to get on with, Marshal and I don't have to write progress reports about you, and you three will never have to set foot in the labs again."

"And what about Sephiroth?" Loz demanded. "Everything hasn't quite worked out for him has it? Where did all that happen? Where was he when he died?"

"Why don't you ask your little brother there?" Marshal answered smoothly. "He seems to know everything about Sephiroth."

For the second time, Yazoo lunged forwards. He was not going let them insult Kadaj anymore, not his little brother…

"Nibelheim." Kadaj looked up from under his hat. "Right?"

Yazoo stopped halfway through his lunge, and Loz caught his arm promptly. Marshal's smirk slid off his face, and Lorna's feet fell from the edge of the counter to hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Nibelheim?" Marshal laughed, but it was a fraction too late. "Nice guess, kid, but that's what it was. A guess."

Yazoo looked at Loz next to him; the eldest's eyes were wide and questioning. He seemed to be caught between believing Marshal or Kadaj. Yazoo frowned. Loz still had a grip on his arm.

There was no mention of Nibelheim in the article; Yazoo didn't even know such a place _existed_. Had Kadaj made it up? Or were the flashes of Sephiroth now fully awake and conscious, feeding out snippets of helpful information, guiding them.

"Loz," Yazoo murmured. "Let go of my arm, it hurts."

Loz did so straight away, cringing. "Sorry."

Kadaj treated Marshal to one of his childish looks of contempt. "Anything else to say?"

Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door, beckoning for Yazoo and Loz to follow with a hand and a reassuring smile.

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**A/N:** Yeah, I decided to stick in the Nibelheim incident because their ages corresponded with it. As always, please be kind and leave a review, it'll only take you seconds! I adore them!


	4. Clutch Control

**A/N:** It's me, I'm back! Hope you're all okay! Welcome to chapter 4 - I'm quite pleased to say that I've actually given Loz a good part in here, how shocking. As ever, I'm overwhelmed by the kind people who've sent in reviews! You're all too kind! Anyhoo, more A/N at the end (more important ones!). Enjoy! 

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 4: Clutch Control**

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Being the oldest was hard work. As it were, back at home with Kadaj playing in the backyard with Souba, it was only Yazoo who was there to appreciate it. In the space of four hours since reuniting with the Turks Lorna and Marshal, Loz had formulated a brilliant plan of setting off to Nibelheim to have many questions regarding Sephiroth answered.

Loz had organised the three so that Yazoo packed clothes (he had always been in charge of the laundry), he packed the kitchenware, and Kadaj sorted through which materia was to be kept. As a result, their clothes were neatly packed and they had a good supply of food, materia and first aid.

Of course, as all plans tend to go, there was a flaw. With boxes and boxes stacked in the hallway, being rather awkward to carry was an understatement. And to Nibelheim as well. Though Yazoo didn't know where the said town was, it certainly wasn't local or else he would have heard of it before. Lugging eight boxes through bad weather in the company of one ever-hungry brother and one highly-unlikely-to-cooperate brother was not his idea of a good trip.

He rounded on Loz accusingly. "Are we walking to Nibelheim?"

Loz finished scrawling 'Kadaj' on one of the boxes, straightening up. He was grinning sheepishly, much to Yazoo's annoyance.

"Well, not exactly." He started talking to Yazoo's forehead – a sign he was hiding something. "Remember I was out earlier on today? Well…I got us a minitruck. You know, hired one."

He cast a quick glance towards the backyard when there was the sound of Souba cutting through the air.

Yazoo quirked an eyebrow at him. "Firstly, where did you get the money from to hire a truck, and secondly – and much more importantly – you do know that neither of us can drive, right?"

It was then that Yazoo was under the impression Loz knew about this major flaw to their plan, and had carried on with it regardless. Loz seemed to have suddenly grown an interest in his fingers. Yazoo reached out and poked his brother's shoulder.

"Oy," he murmured.

"The thing is," Loz said, startled. "You know how eager Kadaj is about Sephiroth and finding more about him…a-and Kadaj and I aren't exactly the closest…"

"You wanted to be helpful?" Yazoo clarified. "Something you and Kadaj could talk about together?"

"Well, yeah," Loz muttered. He nudged one of the boxes with his left foot. "I mean, you got Souba for him, and I wanted to do something as well…getting him to Nibelheim was a good idea, I thought. It is, isn't it?"

He looked up pitifully; it reminded Yazoo of a stray dog that had bounded over to him not long ago, hoping for food. Loz's expression was so pathetic, Yazoo had to feel sorry for his idiot of a brother.

"It _was_ a good idea," he replied honestly. "Explain everything to me, and let's see if we can fix it up."

Loz brightened up immediately. "I looked up a vehicle hire company here, and when I got there, they charged quite a bit…"

"Do you know why?" Yazoo spat rather impatiently. "It's because they rent out _vehicles_. They're more pricey than your cookbooks…stop with that look."

"Sorry," Loz grumbled, "but I thought you were going to help me, not have a go after every sentence I finish."

Yazoo rolled his eyes, deciding to unleash all of his frustration on the coat hanger, giving it a glare. Feeling better, he counted to ten in his head and returned his gaze to Loz.

"Carry on," he sighed. Loz could be so irritating sometimes.

"So I got the price lowered," Loz said hastily. "And one of the employees drove it back here for me. We can load all our luggage on there, use the map--"

"Loz--"

"--to find our way to Nibel--"

"Loz!" Yazoo hissed loudly. "You haven't told me how you got the price lowered!"

The reply was virtually inaudible. Yazoo poked him again.

"Don't tell me you starting crying to gain their sympathy," he said. Loz looked up furiously.

"I didn't!" he retorted. "I took out Velvet Nightmare, and they gave me the truck, no problems. I paid them a bit though – I felt a bit guilty."

"About what? Waving a gun in front of them?" Yazoo fought down his urge to roll his eyes again. "Loz, you're so tactless sometimes I almost want to laugh."

"You haven't heard the rest of it yet," mumbled Loz. Yazoo narrowed his eyes.

"Meaning…?"

"I got a book about driving." Loz, for some odd reason, was starting to smile hopefully. "You can use it, and drive the truck."

"What's wrong Yazoo? You look confused."

Yazoo lolled his head to the side tiredly, eyeing the source of the voice. Kadaj was grinning at him, hands behind his back. Tied round his waist was Souba's sheath, but as the sword was still a bit too big for him, the tip brushed against the ground as he walked.

"You said you were going to drive, why are you backing out now?" Kadaj pulled at his T-shirt, seemingly indifferent to Yazoo's sharp look. Loz caught it though, and consequently, lost a few inches in height.

"I _said_ I was going to drive?" Yazoo knew who was responsible for that, but before he could grab the culprit by his lapels, there was a swish and Souba sliced the air between Yazoo and Loz. He quickly moved backwards, and he was pretty sure he heard Loz yelp.

Once Yazoo had recovered from his initial shock from avoiding a weapon that could potentially decapitate him, he saw Kadaj stood in a proud position, Souba outstretched.

"So let's go! Drive, Yazoo, drive!" Souba swung through the air several more times, and instantly, Yazoo regretted getting it for the youngest brother. He headed to the door wearily; there was no doubt about it, he wasn't definitely going to die from stress.

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It was certainly very uncomfortable, strapped into a leather seat, legs outstretched so that his feet rested on two of three pedals. He gripped the steering wheel, and looked behind him. Kadaj waved heartily, giving a thumbs up sign before occupying all three seats in the back and dropping off to snooze. Yazoo was glad to know someone was enjoying himself. Loz was flicking through _'The Learner Driver's Handbook' _with his eyebrows furrowed. He then ran his index finger down the page entitled 'Starting up'. The top corner had been folded like a bookmark.

"So, first things first," he said in a business-like way. "You remember how to start up? Engine, clutch, gears."

"I'm already on it." Yazoo switched on the engine, and couldn't help but feel that the roar it gave was rather threatening. But it was better him driving, he thought privately to himself. With him, the probability of gaining casualties was significantly lower.

His left foot pressed the clutch down, and he pushed the gear lever to 1st gear. Unfortunately, he had forgotten completely about gas, and brought the clutch up. The truck stopped vibrating, and everything fell silent.

"Hey, what happened?" Kadaj sat up. "Why aren't we moving?"

"He just stalled," Loz whispered a little too indiscreetly. "It's his first time, don't discourage him now."

Yazoo decided not to let Loz's patronising behaviour get to him, and started up again. This time, he remembered the gas, making sure it gave off a lively hum whilst the clutch was brought up slowly.

"That's it, that's clutch control," Loz commented. Yazoo could see his grin out the corner of his eye. "Get it at the bite…yep, just there…keep on the gas…and lift the clutch."

Yazoo did so, and the truck lurched forwards with no grace at all, and Kadaj fell off the back seat with a yelp.

"Not too much gas!" Loz cried. "2nd gear, 2nd gear."

Yazoo dropped into 2nd gear, and was relieved that putting up with Loz's instructions had gotten him somewhere, quite literally. The streets of Midgar shot past the brothers as Yazoo drove; his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel with one hand and changing to 3rd gear with the other.

Kadaj had sat up now, and having learned from his fall, had fastened his seatbelt securely. Yazoo took a turn to the right (he realised he forgot his indicator a second too late), following Loz's directions, heading onto a long stretch of road that led out of Midgar.

"Hey, you get the hang of driving pretty quick." Loz gave an encouraging (and somewhat distracting) pat on Yazoo's shoulder.

"It might look like it, but my hands and knees are shaking," Yazoo replied.

"Once we get onto a less crowded place, it'll be better." Kadaj chipped in a little on the conversation. At a set of traffic lights, Yazoo had to stop, and to his dismay, make use of his clutch control so that the truck wouldn't roll backwards. Loz then reached down and pulled up a long lever.

"Handbrake," he explained. "For long waits."

Yazoo smiled appreciatively, and then looked behind him at Kadaj. The youngest was sat looking out of the window with one hand propping up his chin. He looked rather wistful in Yazoo's opinion, so he asked, "Will you miss Midgar, Kadaj?"

"Not really," Kadaj answered dully. "It's never been much of a home."

Loz looked behind him; Yazoo had the inkling Loz was peering up at the large building that was ShinRa headquarters, where in the wake of them, it was starting to fade in the gloomy grey mist that liked to hover over Midgar.

"Well, I don't see any reason why we should have to go back to Midgar," Yazoo said brightly hoping for Kadaj to cheer up a little (though Yazoo had no idea what the youngest was sulking about now), "we can go someplace else, somewhere with green scenery."

Yazoo was soon to learn that his daydreams and driving didn't mix. Behind him, another driver honked his horn, clearly angered, and Loz grabbed hold of the handbrake.

"Speaking of green, Yazoo, green light! Drive!"

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It was a tiring two hours before they were forced to stop. Darkness was looming up ahead, and even with headlights on, there was no way they could continue their journey. Everywhere around them, there was empty land, and Yazoo was struggling to keep his eyes open.

Kadaj had already surrendered to his fatigue, asleep in the back with his head lolled onto one shoulder. Loz got out the truck, stretching his limbs and yawning.

"Where about are we?" Yazoo asked.

"This is only a map of Midgar," the oldest answered. He gestured to the item in his pocket. "But I guess if we carry on driving one way, we'll end up at a town of some sort."

Seemingly oblivious or even unbothered about the predicament they were in, Loz wandered round to the back of the truck, unloading pillows and blankets.

"So, a bit more confident with driving?" Loz asked once they were back in the truck. "You didn't crash or anything, that's a good sign."

"I was driving in a straight line most of the time," Yazoo answered. He took off Kadaj's seatbelt and unstrapped Souba from him, and leaned the sword against the door. Yazoo tucked Kadaj into the blankets whilst Loz yawned again, muttering to himself.

Yazoo himself could only just start thinking about sleep once he was more comfortable, whereby he had adjusted his pillow, moved away a seatbelt and lowered the backrest. Loz had already started to snore.

It wasn't in Yazoo's nature to inconvenience his brothers, but it was getting to him. Their situation. The fact that they were in a truck, engulfed by nothing but emptiness. Yazoo looked past Kadaj's head out the window, where it was so dark, it was difficult to distinguish between land and sky. He turned back the other way, and started his inconveniencing.

"Loz…" he whispered through the dark of the truck. The oldest shifted against him, but other than that, there was no response. Or so Yazoo thought; instead, the wrong brother woke up.

"What you going mumbling for?" Kadaj said groggily. "S'time? Why've we stopped?"

"I can't drive all the time," answered Yazoo softly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"No big." Kadaj waved a dismissive hand. He pushed back his tousled hair, knocking his elbow against Yazoo's ribs. "You worried about something?"

For a moment, Yazoo thought it was his mind playing up, but it was suddenly striking how old Kadaj suddenly looked. Kadaj was sat up straight, not slouching, he spoke with composure that could match that of Yazoo's. A cool, mature voice that sounded quite alien. Was he really twelve? Had Yazoo accidentally lost count of the years?

"Why are you staring at me? I know you are."

Was it the mako treatment or was it really Kadaj? Was his little brother now not so little? How was Yazoo supposed to know when Kadaj could stand by himself? Did Kadaj even need him in the first place?

It had returned – that niggling knowledge of Sephiroth in Kadaj. Yazoo hated Sephiroth's face the first time he had ever seen it, but that was only known to himself. He leaned back, looking away, but as ever, could feel eyes on him.

"Suddenly, I feel rather tired," Yazoo said. He had been tired in the first place, but now, not only physically, things seemed to take a mental toll on him.

Perhaps it was just the dark that was making him worry. Or the three files in the back of the truck, waiting to be read. Or maybe, just maybe, the slim possibility that for the briefest of moments, shadowed and still, his little brother Kadaj was a perfect image of Sephiroth.

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**A/N: **Woot, well done for reaching the end! My next chapter -should- focus more on Kadaj (for all you Kadaj fans out there) since he's closest to Sephiroth. Unfortunately though, I have a mad stream of exams hurtling towards me pretty soon, so don't expect any update soon. As much as I'd like to, I need to get these exams out the ways first -cries-

Since it'll be a while for the next update, there's plenty of time to review! It won't take long at all, let me know what you think of this chapter, ne? Again, thanks to those who've already reviewed, it's much appreciated -hugs reviews-

Hoping to write again soon!

Lily (you'll catch me again when I update my other fic, before launching into exam hell)


	5. Radio Activity

**A/N: **Gah! What's with this late update? I'm so sorry about this lateness! But hey, what matters is that this chapter's up at last! Hope you're all okay! This chapter's more centralised on Kadaj for you Kadaj fans, since the kid doesn't have too much of a part in this fic at the moment.

Right, now that that's done, you may go on and read this chapter! Please enjoy it!

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 5: Radio Activity**

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Yazoo woke up to the alarming state of being unable to breathe. The back of his head was pressed hard against one of the backseats, and flattening his face was a fresh green T-Shirt with a familiar smell. He wriggled. His knees came into contact with somebody else's.

"Get…off…Kadaj," Yazoo managed. He jerked his head away. Kadaj was leaning over the backseat, head and arms hanging out the open window, and in the process, he was suffocating his own brother. Yazoo guessed the youngest was looking for something. He twisted himself to move from under Kadaj; moments later, he was joined by a box of crackers and Kadaj himself, who sat in the middle seat and ripped the crackers open. Several tumbled onto the floor by his feet.

"Why doesn't he just understand I'm hungry?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Yazoo said wearily.

"Are you going to start lecturing me too?" replied Kadaj. The crackers were tossed aside unceremoniously and without warning, the door Yazoo was leaning against swung open, and he nearly toppled out of the truck. Loz caught his shoulder in time.

"Hoy, brat!" he said loudly. "I said for you to wash your hands and face before breakfast! All that rubbish about going to wake Yazoo…!"

"I'm already awake," Yazoo pointed out rather unnecessarily (since he had moved from Loz's grasp to sit up straight again), but it went unheard as Loz bristled at the sight of Kadaj offering a half eaten cracker, a snide grin clearly visible.

"How did you get that back window open anyway?" he demanded. "Look, it doesn't matter. Just go and wash your face – the bottle's outside. And then we can have breakfast."

Kadaj left with a roll of his eyes, and Loz added irritably, "And if you're already awake, why won't you help me?"

He rested an arm on the open door. "I've spent the whole morning chasing that brat round and round this truck to get him to wash his face. And he stole my face towel – he was threatening to sneeze on it!"

Trust Loz to take something like that seriously. Yazoo snorted without thinking, and clearly offended by it, Loz said, "It's not funny," and slammed the door shut in a huff.

Loz's bad mood remained throughout the morning. Whilst Yazoo drove the truck that afternoon with Kadaj in the front passenger seat this time, Loz chose to curl up in the back, eating his breakfast of crackers with small bites. It was all rather pathetic in Yazoo's honest opinion, but Loz could take offence at anything, and Yazoo had been quite harsh. Apologies never worked for Loz, who was probably only like to cheer up if Yazoo were to lecture Kadaj. Yazoo doubted that would go down to well with the youngest.

He looked away from the windscreen and down at the controls. Kadaj did the same. There had to be something interesting here which would make them forget about the bad start to the morning…a volume dial? Perhaps the button next to it?

He pushed it.

"--simple phone call to enter you in for a chance to win 10 000 gil." A unrecognisable masculine voice blared out. Yazoo couldn't quite locate where it was coming from. It sounded like the DJ was in the back of the truck next to Loz. Loz had stopped staring out the window, and Kadaj wriggled in his seat so that he was sat up straighter. "All you have to do is listen to the first song after 10, and then phone in with the song title and artist! Can't get it any easier can you? What would you do if you had an extra 10 000 gil in your pocket?"

"Get a decent breakfast," Loz answered, giving up on the crackers.

"Would you?" Kadaj swivelled round and leaned over the front seat to talk to Loz. One foot banged against the gearstick, and it was then that Yazoo noticed that Kadaj didn't have his seatbelt on. "I'd get myself a decent pair of trainers."

He wiggled his feet. "Look, they're breaking at the ends, and the laces are all brown."

"What would you use 10 000 gil for?"

Yazoo assumed Loz was talking to him, so he pondered for a few seconds.

"A book?" suggested Kadaj (Yazoo wasn't too sure he liked the contempt in his voice).

"I'd hire a chauffeur so I wouldn't have to drive."

Kadaj tapped a finger against his chin. The radio DJ put on a pop song. "But it would be a waste to spend so much on just a decent breakfast or a chauffeur." He adopted a brisk businesslike tone. "We'll use the rest to find Mother, right?"

Loz nodded fervently, and Yazoo would have done so also, if he wasn't driving. Kadaj appeared to understand this (thankfully) and settled back in his seat. As the pop song broke into a saccharine chorus, he nodded his head in time with the beat.

"Do you think that if the three of us entered that competition, we'd win 30 000?"

Kadaj spoke with such sincerity that when Yazoo made eye contact with Loz (turning around and briefly forgetting that he was driving), they both had to struggle to hide their sniggers.

"…I don't think that's how it works, Kadaj," Yazoo smiled. He felt considerably brightened up hearing his brothers' spirited chatter. The morning's disagreement had been forgotten.

"We don't know much about music though, we wouldn't be able to win the competition in the first place," pointed out Loz.

"That's all right," Kadaj said, waving a disparaging hand. "We'll commandeer the radio station and force them to give us their money!"

He reached for Souba to no doubt swing it as a way of emphasising his reckless proposition. Yazoo opened his mouth to remind the youngest that there was very little in the truck for a two bladed sword, but Kadaj had abruptly changed his mind, opting to stare out the side window.

"What in the heck was that!"

Yazoo looked behind him and snatched a glimpse of something yellow and fluffy. It was out of sight before he had the chance to register any more.

"Stop the truck!" demanded Kadaj. "I want to know what that thing was!"

Yazoo didn't need to stop the truck, for in front of them, emerging on the horizon was a farm of some sort, split into two white buildings. At least four duck-like creatures with yellow feathers and abnormally huge eyes paced around a pen. He parked the truck; Kadaj was out before the engine had even been switched off. Loz, who was a lot more reserved, stepped out warily.

"Chocobo Farm," he read off a worn sign. "We might as well stock up on supplies here."

"And ask for directions?" Yazoo said amusedly. "I suspect the owner of this place has a map besides one of Midgar."

Loz had the grace to look abashed, and once Kadaj had finished gawking at what Yazoo presumed were Chocobos, the three headed for the door to the farmhouse.

The door was already open, and a battered "Welcome" doormat greeted them – just one of the many items in the front room that seemed to be a few hundred years old. Kadaj strode in first, and oddly, it was he who addressed the wizened little man sat at the table.

"Hey there."

The three waited patiently as the man stared at them with blinking, uncomprehending eyes. The brothers' unusual appearances often caused confusion. Yazoo supposed it wasn't ordinary for siblings to look _that_ alike.

The man's eyes lingered on the sheath strapped round Kadaj's waist; he appeared to understand what was kept in that sheath, and despite Souba's owner having the innocent looks, Yazoo had to hand it to old man for noticing the danger of it.

It had only been a few days since Souba had come into Kadaj's possession, but it was clear to Yazoo (whether it was to Loz or Kadaj himself, he wasn't sure) that Souba and Kadaj fitted each other perfectly.

"Welcome to Chocobo Farm, I'm Bill," the old man said hesitantly. "Did you want to borrow a Chocobo?"

"Nah, we've gotten ourselves lost," Kadaj said. "We could do with some directions."

"Is that all you need?" Bill asked a little too hopefully.

"Well, we would like to get a night's rest as well, if that's possible." Loz looked past Bill to a small room, whose door was left ajar. "We've come quite a way. From Midgar."

The old man's face fell. Then, with the difficulty that wasn't uncommon in elderly people, he got off his chair and ambled to a dresser, pulling open a drawer. He peered out the window at the baggage-loaded truck parked outside.

"Perhaps taking a map on this trip of yours would have been a good idea," Bill said reprovingly.

The drawer slid shut, and he laid out a map on the table. The old man was suddenly a lot more welcoming towards them. Yazoo assumed this change of heart had transpired because they hadn't done anything that was harmful. Or it could have been by the simple fact that Kadaj had lost his threatening air when, as he rocked on his heels, Souba's sheath scraped the floor, rattled against the table and got caught in the checked tablecloth.

"Now, coming from Midgar, you've gone completely the wrong way." Bill pointed a finger to the map. "Midgar's here, Kalm's over there…you're all the way down here. Kalm's in the other direction."

Bill pushed up his glasses, eyeing Loz with a stern look as if the eldest was to blame for it all. Kadaj stood on tiptoe, nearly knocking over a water jug.

"Wait a minute," said the youngest. "We're not going to Kalm."

"You're not?"

Kadaj looked around the map, searching. "We're going to a place called Nibelheim to find our brother."

"_Nibelheim_!" Bill's eyes were unimaginably wide. "You're planning to drive a truck all the way to _Nibelheim_?"

The driving applied to Yazoo, so he spoke for the first time to Bill. "Yes. You act as if it's a ludicrous idea."

"Well, sonny, to put no finer point on it, it _is_ a ludicrous idea," Bill replied. He studied the middle brother for a few seconds, as though only just noticing he was there. Afterwards, he rolled up the map, put it away and took out another one. It was a world map.

"Nibelheim's over here, on a separate continent. Are you going to drive over the ocean?"

Kadaj brought his face close to the new map; he was muttering to himself some of the words marked on there. Loz was shifting from foot to foot.

"See, from here, you've got the Mythril Cave to pass and then get to Junon so that you can take a ferry across to Costa Del Sol." The list was endless, and Yazoo was struggling to make any sense of it, and it didn't help that he couldn't get a good view of the map with Loz, Bill and Kadaj hunched over it. "Then from there, you'll be able to get to Nibelheim with a truck."

Kadaj was crestfallen, Yazoo could tell without even seeing his face. The youngest's shoulders had drooped; he had become rather quiet. However, when he spoke again, he remained as enthusiastic and optimistic as possible, snatching up the map and giving a curt nod.

"I'll borrow this if you don't mind," he said to Bill. "Looks a bit more confusing, but I'm sure we can work out something. Right?"

He looked at Yazoo and Loz in turn. Bill sighed heavily.

"I'll see if I can help you children. I don't know what it is with kids and unrealistic ambitions," he grumbled. "Couldn't your parents take you to Nibelheim to visit your brother like a holiday?"

He didn't wait for an answer, choosing instead to show them into the guestroom. Three beds were lined up temptingly, with fresh sheets that rippled very faintly from a breeze. Yazoo and Kadaj were left together whilst Bill and Loz went out to fetch their belongings; Kadaj chose the middle bed, slumping on it, spread eagled. Yazoo took the map out his hand.

"That Bill's nice enough to want to help us," he commented. Kadaj didn't reply; his only response was the flick of his eyes. Yazoo continued, wetting his lips. "I suppose he feels sorry for us."

He sat on the bed closest to the window, fiddling with the corner of a striped pillow. "The map just makes it look like Nibelheim's far away."

At last, Kadaj moved, swinging a hand in the air to rest palm-side up on his forehead. His other hand began to tug at the ribbons tied on Souba.

"Don't fuss over me, I'm trying to devise a plan here."

He sat up straight, and jumped off the bed onto his feet, joining Yazoo. He took one side of the map, so that they were holding it together.

They studied it in silence, or more so, Kadaj did. Yazoo was more interested in the fact that as they sat next to each other, it was quick noticeable how tall his brother was. The top of Kadaj's head was only just below Yazoo's shoulder now.

"Something on my head?" Kadaj didn't look up from the map.

"No. I was just noting how tall you are."

And it was perfectly true, but Kadaj didn't particularly approve of it, muttering, "I told you not to fuss over me."

Yazoo returned to the map. Nevertheless, he couldn't stop his thoughts about Kadaj's maturity. The youngest brother sat with a huge map, creased eyebrows and impatient eyes trying to make sense of it. He didn't look twelve at all.

Was Kadaj merely trying to act grown up so that he could be like his brothers? Or was it real?

Kadaj was sniggering. Yazoo snapped out of his daydream to see what exactly was worth sniggering at. It was Loz, stumbling in with numerous bags gracelessly. Yazoo leapt to his feet to help him.

"That's everything we need," said Loz. "We'll sort out what to throw away and what to pack this evening. Kadaj, what _are_ you doing?"

"Looking out the window, why?"

Yazoo smiled as Loz shot across the room – for Kadaj was leaning out the window, so far that it was possible for him to fall out of it.

"Do you want to hit your head or something?" Loz dragged him back, steering Kadaj by the shoulders. "If you want to look at the Chocobos, go outside."

A childish grin accompanied by excited steps. "Come on Yazoo! Let's go look at the Chocobos!"

Kadaj's twelve year old self was back, lolloping around the room, dragging his older brothers. Yazoo winced at the tightened grip around his wrist, but followed willingly, even if he did have no choice anyway. Loz rolled his eyes in his direction, and the older brothers exchanged mutual looks of exasperation.

"Hey, old man! We're going to go look at the Chocobos! Don't steal our stuff, okay?" Kadaj called. He raced out of the porch, Souba swinging manically at his waist. Poor Bill barely even had time to see who was talking to him.

Yazoo crashed into Loz's back (hurting him more than the latter) as Kadaj stopped at the pen's fencing, watching Chocobos. Loz slumped onto the grass tiredly, waving a hand for Yazoo to come sit next to him.

"…Can never keep up with him like this," Loz puffed, raking his hair. "Let's just leave him to pet the Chocobos, I'm tired from the trip."

Yazoo gave him a small poke in the ribs. "Says someone who didn't even drive." He tilted his head back so that he could see Kadaj, who, unsurprisingly, had taken a bold leap and climbed over the fence to approach the Chocobos, creatures that were remarkably friendly. Yazoo could see some yellow bits of fluff had embedded themselves in Kadaj's mop of hair, but feeling quite sly – and relaxed even – he opted to not tell the youngest.

Yazoo definitely preferred the childish Kadaj to the frighteningly mature one. He had yet to work out which one was really Kadaj, or if was even split personalities at all. Kadaj was inevitably going to grow up, there was no way about it.

Loz's head had lolled onto his shoulder. Yazoo wasn't the least uncomfortable (so long as Loz didn't start drooling). He let Loz sleep, and Kadaj play. His worries had no right to interrupt either.

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**A/N:** They're at Chocobo Farm now - still a while to go until Nibelheim. I had to get back into my FFVII game to see whereabouts Nibelheim actually was, and it's miles away from Midgar! If I don't watch out, this fic's just going to be Yazoo driving a truck halfway across the world and not much else. Don't worry, I'll come up with an idea soon. As of now though, you've reached the end of the chapter, so if you could be kind and review this chapter for me, I'll be eternally grateful!


	6. Growing Pains

**A/N:** Hello all! Welcome to Chapter 6 of Ameagari! Sorry about this late update, which is slowly becoming the norm - I promise I'll do something about it. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter, it's crucial in terms of how Kadaj is changing (gradually becoming the guy we see in the movie).

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 6: Growing Pains**

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"The hell is that smell!"

Loz's high pitched splutter was what Yazoo woke up to the next morning. He could hear Kadaj's mischievous giggles resounding over their bedroom. Then, Yazoo sat bolt upright, sniffing the air. He had caught a powerful whiff of an unfamiliar smell, remarkably putrid and sharp.

"What _is_ that smell?"

Kadaj's bed was empty, so looking further past it, he found that both his brothers were on the bed closest to the door. Loz was still curled up, one arm tucked under his pillow and the other swatting away the youngest brother. Kadaj himself was fully dressed, and he had tied his fringe up with an elastic band so that he could see with both eyes. The tiny ponytail flicked from side to side as his head moved. And why was there grass on his hands? And stains of mud down his front?

"Kadaj, how long have you been up for?" Yazoo asked. He caught Loz's eye, and the two wrinkled their noses simultaneously.

"Hours and hours," came the nonchalant reply. "You two wouldn't wake up, so I got bored and hung around with Bill."

Yazoo opened his mouth to ask more questions, but it was apparent that Loz was more urgent. The eldest finally sat up, pushing Kadaj away from him.

"I _said_, get off! Kadaj, you actually stink! What have you been doing?"

Yazoo was on the verge of laughing, seeing Kadaj hugging Loz with filthy hands. Kadaj rarely hugged either of his brothers these days, so it was evident that he was only doing so to irk Loz.

"I was feeding chocobos, Loz!" Kadaj finally exclaimed, hopping off the bed and dusting down his front. Several blades of grass and dried flecks of mud fluttered onto the worn carpeted floor. "It was so much fun. I slipped a few times, and I stroked the chocobos, but a couple of them started pecking and spat on me, so that might explain the smell." He threw his arms up in exasperation. "You don't have to act like I'm poisonous."

"No, but you certainly smell poisonous." Loz was careful to utter under his breath, but thankfully, his comment didn't quite reach Kadaj's ears.

"Did you want to feed the chocobos as well?"

Loz laughed dryly. "And end up like you? I think I'll pass, thanks. I'd much rather concentrate on our plans for getting to Nibelheim."

"It's all sorted," Kadaj patronised, swirling on the spot very slightly and crossing his arms. Yazoo swung his legs out of bed, pulling on a T-Shirt.

"It is?" he asked.

"I had Bill sort it out. He's doing it now if you don't believe me." Kadaj waved a hand in the general direction of the door. Loz's eyebrows had furrowed into one. "Bill's got a friend who can pick us up the other side of Mythril Cave. We borrow that car and drive ahead to Junon. And then we'll get a boat across."

"And Bill and his friend's fine with that?" Loz was incredulous, and Yazoo was too, though he wasn't as upfront about it.

"Yep!" Kadaj smiled. It was his typically devious smile, which Yazoo classified as more of a smirk – it usually meant trouble as well.

"It's good you've taken care of it," Yazoo said after a significant span of silence. Loz had flopped back into bed, his face virtually hidden by the pillow.

"Well, whenever you two are going to wake up, we can go outside and watch the chocobos together," Kadaj decided. "In the meantime I'll wait for you on the porch. I'll be doing sums."

Yazoo arched an eyebrow, repeating, "Sums?"

"I just thought that…" He grinned almost sheepishly, fingering the hilt of Souba. "…I thought that Mother probably wouldn't want a son who can't add up."

He gave a hearty wave before pulling their bedroom door open, wiping a mud stain off his cheek as he went.

"Hey, brat." Loz called from under his bedcovers. Yazoo watched wordlessly as Kadaj sighed towards the ceiling, replying with enough drama to hit the stage, "I suppose you're referring to me?"

"Course I am," Loz grunted. "Before you do your maths, take a shower, will you?"

Kadaj left with a placid smile only Yazoo caught sight of. The door swung slowly to close itself, but stayed open with a marginal gap. Loz appeared to be sleeping, so Yazoo slipped off his bed, crossed the room, and poked his brother's cheek.

"It's all right, I'm awake." He sat up groggily, pushing his hair back to its usual swept back state. Propping up his chin with a hand, he turned to Yazoo. "Don't you ever get the feeling Kadaj's growing up too quickly…"

So Loz was noticing it too. How Kadaj was frighteningly mature, organising their trip to Nibelheim like that, along with many other things. Relief washed over Yazoo, and beliefs that he was being paranoid dissipated. Crossing the room, he paused at the door to see if Kadaj was around. He noticed Bill was sat at the breakfast table, hissing urgently down the phone.

"You have to help me out here, Steve! You owe me for those extra greens I got your Sunny...Mythril Cave's not that far...trust me, you're better off giving up your car, unless you want to give up something else like an arm or two...because these children are not normal!"

Bill checked his surroundings to make sure no one was eavesdropping, to which Yazoo tilted his head back so that it was hidden by the door. Bill continued, although a lot more quietly, "They're not your average Sally or John…Well, the little kid seems okay, just heavily armed…but there's one who looks like he can compete with Dio for the number of muscles he has, and there's another one who doesn't really do much - he just stares at you. I swear he doesn't blink...!"

Yazoo moved away from the door, closing it. He had heard enough. Just when he had thought Bill was smart to notice the dangerous aura that surrounded Kadaj, the old man was set upon believing Loz was the threatening one simply because of his build.

He sat on Kadaj's bed, facing his brother, and returned to his conversation.

"It's scary isn't it? How Kadaj is growing up. I never noticed it before, and then it just hit me."

Yazoo didn't mean to sound so serious, but it came out that way, and Loz arched his eyebrows. The cotton nightshirt he wore ruffled when the window let in a cool morning breeze.

"What do you mean, scary?" Loz grinned, getting out of bed. "Isn't it a good thing he's growing up? I don't fancy making his bed for him when he's our age – he can learn to do that himself."

Loz wasn't quite getting it. Yazoo's worry came back, and licking his lips, he tried to explain. "I meant…if you look at Kadaj now, he's…I don't know, changed too suddenly – it's almost like he's somebody else."

"What, you mean Se--"

"No," Yazoo said firmly. "Just that Kadaj seems very set on this Nibelheim idea. It's fuelling this sudden maturity in him. I can't tell if it's real or not."

Loz pondered as he made his bed. Yazoo tucked a knee under his chin, waiting.

"Yeah, I guess Kadaj is uh…being like that," he admitted. He looked up from his mattress. "You didn't sound happy about our plans for Nibelheim though." Concern flitted across his face momentarily, and was replaced by an insincere grin. "Don't you want to go?"

"Don't be stupid Loz, of course I do," Yazoo sighed. His defence mechanism of 'Don't be stupid' had come up. He hoped Loz wouldn't see past it and work out what Yazoo really thought of the Nibelheim idea.

It was too late – Loz had noticed his creased eyebrows and determinedly unblinking eyes. Yazoo wished he wasn't so easy to read for Loz.

"Well, I'm actually quite interested in what we might find out there." Loz gestured to the files that sat atop their bags in the corner of their room, untouched. "Those folders are bound to have many questions answered, but I want to see everything with my own eyes. About ourselves, Mother, Se--"

"I'm only going for one reason," cut in Yazoo. He was not fond of hearing the General's name, and it was another of his defence mechanisms to say anything that'd stop it from being said. "I'm only going because Kadaj wants to."

"Believe it or not, Yazoo – I figured that out." Loz brightened with a small amount of pride, offering a warm smile. "Can you blame Kadaj for being so curious though? I mean, he's got the best connection with Mother, of course he wants to know more…of course we'll feel a bit left out…"

"Do you ever feel he's distancing himself from us?"

He watched Loz's eyes scouring his bed, as though he wanted to straighten out more creases. Finally, the eldest spoke.

"All the time. That's why we shouldn't distance ourselves from him. We ought to help our brother, not leave him because he leaves us."

Loz shrugged as if his words meant nothing, but to Yazoo, they had successfully washed away the worries he had with very little effort. He was considerably lightened, and mustering as much affection as he could into the palm of his hand, he slapped it on top of Loz's bent head. It was so comforting to feel the short strands of silver between his fingers, a completely different texture and feel to his.

In the few seconds that Yazoo looked into Loz's eyes, he was reassured, and it certainly felt good to know that no matter the problem, there was an older brother he could always turn to.

The door suddenly opened and Kadaj stuck his head in. On seeing both brothers still in their pyjamas and with very little intention of getting dressed, he frowned visibly. He was still dirty, with dark stains down his jeans and tainted hair.

"I got stuck on a question and was going to ask for help – I hate long division," he said. He waved his notebook emptily. "But I'm bored now. I want to show you two how to feed chocobos."

Yazoo didn't quite know how he had managed to get across the room so quickly, nor did he know whether Loz had followed him or acted of his own accord. All he knew was that both he and Loz had swamped Kadaj in a hug. Loz was ruffling the youngest's mop of hair, picking out grass blades.

"What _is_ it with you two? What's gotten into you?" spluttered Kadaj. Yazoo only held him tighter. "I thought you said that I stink, Loz."

"Yeah, but that doesn't really matter." Loz's reply was dismissive, a trait that hardly suited him.

Yazoo had to bend down to be able to hug his brother fully, but he didn't mind at all. In the back of his head, he knew that he and Kadaj would reach a time when hugs were out of the question. And how much longer could Yazoo bend down? Kadaj was going to grow to be at his height, he'd quite easily surpass Yazoo's knowledge, he just needed time, that was all.

It was odd, feeling conflicting emotions. It was admittedly, saddening to think about Kadaj leaving him, distancing him and possibly even forgetting them as brothers. Inevitable as it was, for now everything was content. Yazoo couldn't have it any other way.

And his ease intensified as he felt the burly arm that was Loz's encircle his shoulders; Kadaj had awkwardly rested a hand on Yazoo's back, returning the sudden embrace. The three sank onto the carpet; the unanswered maths question waited.

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**A/N:** What do you think? I had Loz play the older brother here - in too many fics, he's portrayed as babyish and more of a liability and waste of space more than anything else. I don't think Loz is like that - he's definitely got some big brother qualities. Oh, and with Kadaj and his sums, I stuck that in just to show a tad of innocence, since we all know that in the movie, being able to do sums or not is quite a futile matter. So, now that the chapter's done, I'll be extremely grateful if you could review. Virtual cookies for those who reviewed the last chapter - thank you!


	7. Sinister Slumber

**A/N: **Hello all! Welcome to this very late update of Ameagari chapter 7! If you're reading Kuro to Gin or have recently read my profile, you'll know that I'm on holiday at the moment, and this is a **pre-written** update. This means that I've written it beforehand, and all reviews that are sent (please send one!) won't get a reply until I've come back, which is September 9th. Please bear that in mind, and enjoy the chapter!

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 7: Sinister Slumber**

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"From Junon…a ferry, I think. From Costa del Sol, an airship…is…is Nibelheim that far, nii-sama?"

Yazoo was determined to concentrate on the task at hand: carrying their belongings through Mythril Cave to the truck that waited the other side of it. It had been two days since Bill had waved goodbye from his farm (all too gladly) and the brothers had drove south to the cave. The plan, Kadaj had told them, was to shorten the distance between themselves and Nibelheim as much as possible so that it wouldn't cost as much by airship.

Unfortunately, they had to change cars because of the cave, and with so much work put into their travelling plans, Kadaj had fallen asleep in the back. Or so Yazoo thought. He couldn't quite tell if Kadaj was actually sleeping or half awake when he spoke to Sephiroth.

Yazoo wondered whether it was a good idea to wake up his little brother and tell him they had arrived. Leaning on the open back door, taking off Kadaj's seatbelt and untangling Souba's sheath from it, he craned his neck behind him to see if Loz had returned from carrying across their bags. The eldest was twice as fast in this task, but he was taking longer than the first round took. All Yazoo had for company was a dribbling Kadaj.

He wiped at the youngest's mouth with a sleeve, ignoring the latter's mutter of, "…not sure if we'll get there on time…I can try…"

It was another ten minutes of doing nothing before Loz came back, sweeping his green gaze over the truck and saying matter-of-factly, "I can carry that all in one go. After that, we can get driving towards Junon. I'll leave that baggage to you though."

With a grin, Loz jerked his head in Kadaj's direction. "I think we'll let him sleep."

Yazoo nodded, and hoisted Kadaj onto his back before shutting the door with a foot. He double-checked to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. In spite of the fact that the truck wasn't theirs in the first place, Yazoo decided that he would miss the thing – it had taken them this far, and walking into the murky depths of Mythril Cave was not his idea of a nice welcoming. However, he took comfort in seeing Loz's bag-covered back not too far ahead, as well as the occasional thud made when the eldest knocked a bag against the damp walls by mistake.

The sudden change in light stirred Kadaj, Yazoo observed. The previously limp arms draped over him now tightened around his shoulders, and the middle brother could feel the regular sensation of a warm breath down his neck.

"Not long now," Loz called behind him. His voice echoed all around, resounding over the cave surprisingly loudly, even though he was whispering. Sure enough, after a few minutes of walking, the opening was visible. The exit was quite small, so Yazoo had to duck his way out; Kadaj nearly slipped off his back. The youngest started mumbling again.

On reaching the other side of Mythril Cave, they were greeted by the car Bill's friend Steve had given to them. There was no sign of the man himself: Yazoo supposed Steve had heard the horror stories about the brothers and preferred to hide himself. Still, they had a truck to drive in, smaller than their original one but, as Loz told him, a lot easier to drive.

"Right, Junon's not that far, we could get started on getting there – depends how you feel." Loz rolled up the map and stuffed it into his bag. "Yazoo?"

"What?" Yazoo tore his gaze away from the slumbering Kadaj. "Oh…I'll uh, take a bit of a break before driving again."

Loz gave a nod, checking their baggage was loaded safely on their new truck. The securing straps tinkled a little as the metal clasps knocked against each other. Afterwards, the eldest slumped onto the grass, exhausted.

Yazoo set Kadaj in the backseat of the truck, placing Souba by its owner. Kadaj's eyes opened blearily, unfocused. Yazoo hesitated, expecting some mention of Sephiroth. Instead, Kadaj murmured, "Feed choc…obos…with me?" before dropping off to sleep again, head rolling onto his shoulder. Yazoo relaxed, somewhat heartened to hear Kadaj saying more normal things.

"Here. Drink up."

Yazoo turned round just in time to receive a bottle in his hands. He winced from the power Loz had put in the throw, even if it was a toss. Sitting down next to his brother, Yazoo took a sip from the bottle, passing it back to Loz. For a few comfortable minutes, it was like that, sharing the water, staring up ahead at the long stretch of grassland they had yet to travel across.

The contentment quickly died away when Loz pulled his bag over, delving into it and with difficulty, tugging out a black file. The peeling label read "2-4-B". A loose column of paper looking suspiciously like a bookmark poked up from between the paper.

"I was going to tell you," was the first thing Loz said. Yazoo stared at the folder, and back at his brother.

"I thought you said you wanted to find out about yourself in Nibelheim, not that folder…"

Loz's head moved from side to side in thought. Apparently, it was quite hard for him to explain his actions, and for several seconds, Loz couldn't say anything. Then, in a low voice, he admitted, "Well…we can't be sure that we'll find out much when we get to Nibelheim…this is only background reading…"

"Background reading my arse," Yazoo found himself replying. He immediately regretted it, knowing that Loz would be offended. But Yazoo couldn't restrain his annoyance at all. "Loz, that folder is your life history. Someone's taken the liberty and written your biography for you. How nice. Wouldn't you rather not know about where we came from?"

Loz's response was a sulky glare of the eyes, and he turned away. Yazoo could hear him mutter, "Only curious…least I have some curiosity."

He downed the rest of the water with an unmistakable air of petulance. The bottle rolled aside. Guilt rose in the middle brother quite quickly; at Loz's claim of curiosity, it made sense as to why Loz had acted upon it. In Loz's entire life, he had never seen or 'felt', as Kadaj called it, Sephiroth. The eldest had no clue when it came to General, and in a way, Yazoo envied that. It was no wonder why Loz was curious about it all.

Yazoo took the folder from his lap gently. "Did you find out anything interesting?"

"Yes I did actually," came the waspish answer. "It had loads of analyses of our bodies and it used them to come up with how to fight at our optimum level…it suggests that us two will be suited to pair work. Also that I'm likely to be strongest."

"You don't need a folder to tell you that."

Loz appeared to appreciate the compliment, for he sat up straighter, watching eagerly as Yazoo flicked through the folder. The middle brother hardly registered the words on the page.

"You know when you said you didn't really want to go Nibelheim? That you were only doing so because Kadaj wanted to?" Loz flicked a spider off his knee.

"What about it?" Yazoo turned the folder landscape, trying to make sense of a graph. There were assorted lines, and though there was a key, it wasn't particularly helpful.

"Well, why don't you want to go? You…you can't tell me you have _no_ curiosity whatsoever."

Yazoo smiled. "I have no curiosity, Loz."

A small chuckle escaped Loz's lips, and he rolled his eyes. He gripped the folder, tugging on the firm cardboard backing.

"Then why are you reading this, huh?"

They exchanged grins, pulling the folder like a half-hearted version of tug-of-war. In what wind there was, the pages ruffled, scratching Yazoo's wrist. The spider had returned, scampering over the eldest's trainer. The brothers watched it, fascinated by the way its legs took the insect carefully over the laces.

The wind turned the pages of the folder for them, displaying complicated diagrams, reports set out in identical formats, tables and charts. Suddenly, saying that this was Loz's life history sounded harsh, and Yazoo wished he hadn't said it. Apparently, Loz had forgotten about their slight disagreement, taking the spider into his hands and letting it climb up an infinite staircase of fingers.

If Yazoo were to give their nature as experiments a chance, they could utilise whatever their strengths were and find their mother quicker. He told this to Loz, who nodded fervently, suggesting again the idea of pair work. He shut Loz's folder, smoothening the peeling label and giving it back to its owner. Yazoo sank into the grass, propping himself up by the elbows.

"Do you think I should read my folder?" Yazoo asked after a minute or so. The question startled Loz, maybe because of the abrupt end to the silence. However, as Loz began to answer hastily, he suspected that this was not quite the case.

"Oh…I dunno Yazoo," he uttered, "i-it'll probably say the same kind of stuff mine does…a-and my one says some pretty mean things about er, me…I wouldn't want you to read bad things said about you, not that I'm saying there are any in the first pl--"

"Loz, have you been reading my folder?" Yazoo smiled.

"No," Loz said to the spider.

Yazoo highly doubted the eldest was being honest, or that Loz's folder had said anything bad; his stomach tingled from the realisation that Loz was simply wanting to protect him. Whatever was written about him, it wasn't going to be reassuring. He sat up.

"Okay then. I won't read it."

Loz looked relieved; Yazoo gestured to the spider. "Can I…?"

The spider crawled carefully onto Yazoo's palm with Loz's help. It climbed up his slender fingers. On reaching the top, Loz's hand greeted him, and then Yazoo's. They continued exercising the spider with alternate hands, before it became rather boring. Loz let the insect escape into the grass.

"That kind of counted as pair work," said Loz. "We didn't let the spider fall."

"But in real pair work, I need to be able to tell what your next moves are, not how to entertain a spider." Yazoo flopped back onto the grass. The clouds were passing rapidly, and even though it was warm, they were grey enough to suggest rain.

He studied them pensively. Could he do it? Could he actually work alongside Loz in their training? In all honesty, he was going to be not much more than a nuisance. Loz was eyeing him patiently, waiting for the middle brother to do something besides staring. This was short-lived however, when there was the dull thudding of a fist on glass.

"Hey! Are you going to let me out this truck?"

"No," Loz called back. Nevertheless, he and Yazoo got to their feet, making their way back to the vehicle. Yazoo sighed, knowing that another fine afternoon was going to be spent in the cramped confines of the driver's seat.

Pressed against the window was Kadaj's face; his hair was tousled from his sleep, and the hilt of Souba was now knocking on the window as a demand for him to be set free.

"Someone must have put the child lock on," Loz said, a little too breezily, that Yazoo quirked an eyebrow.

"Why did you do that?"

A rare smile of mischief crossed Loz's face, and he replied, "It gave us a bit of peace didn't it? Imagine what would have happened if he was able to sneak up on us."

He clapped Yazoo's shoulder and pulled the door open in a similar fashion to someone greeting a VIP. Kadaj hopped out with grace that was unworthy of such a title. Souba threatened to slide off his waist; he hitched his trousers up further and belt a bit higher. His hands then rested on his hips.

"Ah, fresh air, perfect after a good sleep," commented the youngest, doing a 360 degree examination of his surroundings. He was apparently unaware of his dreamlike encounter with Sephiroth; Yazoo sighed with relief. "Where are we? Nibelheim? Why have we stopped?"

Yazoo raised his eyebrows at Loz. By the looks of it, the two of them weren't going to see any peace and quiet for a long time.

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**A/N:** A bit of brotherly love between Yazoo and Loz :) I haven't written that for a while, and it's obvious in the movie that they're close. I had to get rid of Kadaj for a while so that I could do this scene – that's why he's asleep for most of this chapter – sorry, Kadaj fans! Kadaj gets a bigger part in the next chapter (where it's Loz's turn to go away – oh, how we love Yazoo!), which, incidentally is a request chapter made by a reviewer, complete with a dedication!

See, that's why you should review! –looks hopeful–


	8. Plain Sailing

**A/N: **This is the final pre-written update for Ameagari, so welcome to chapter 8! We get some nice Yazoo and Kadaj interaction here, quite reminiscent of my other fic Ame ni Matte, though, hopefully you'll be able to tell that Kadaj has grown up quite a bit since then. As always, thanks to those who have reviewed – I'll get back to you as soon as I can! For now though, enjoy this update!

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic:)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

**Dedication:** It is because of VelvetNightmare13 that Kadaj behaves himself and Yazoo gets appreciation in this chapter! So as a thank you for the nice suggestion and taking the time to review this and other fics, this chapter is dedicated to **VelvetNightmare13**! Thank you!

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 8: Plain Sailing**

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Yazoo nearly drove past Junon. In spite of Bill's repeated advice to keep an eye out for the city in the hills, Yazoo would have gone straight past it without any trouble at all, mistaking it for an odd looking crevice by the sea, if Kadaj hadn't leapt from his seat, shouting.

"That's it isn't it? Isn't it?"

He scrambled for the world map, as though expecting it to give him a photo he could refer to.

"Wow, it really is lost in the hills," Loz remarked. "I thought it was just Bill being, you know, descriptive and that."

Junon further enhanced its grandeur when Yazoo parked the car near an alley. The buildings were far taller than those of Midgar, and there was the consistent presence of wind; the sound of helicopters resounded nearby, echoing back and forth.

It was certainly busy, particularly down where a large boat was. Uniformed seamen shouted orders and ushered others along. Crowds of people had gathered by gangway; the occasional person checking for tickets.

Kadaj had ran to the edge of the dock, staring wide-eyed at the ocean. The long stretch of blue was unquestionably impressive; Yazoo hadn't seen anything like it. Not even the wide, fluttering grassland could compare to it.

Both Loz and Kadaj had slipped a hand into the water, letting the waves lap at them, the latter flicking droplets into the eldest's face playfully.

"The air's very fresh here," commented Yazoo, remembering their home back in Midgar. "Let's see if we can find a place to stay."

"I'll do that," said Loz, straightening up. Kadaj wiped his wet hand on the side of his trousers. "There's a ticket booth there. Why don't you see when the next boat leaves, and if possible, get tickets for it."

"What about me?" piped up a voice by Yazoo's arm.

"You can come with me," said Yazoo.

So together, the middle and youngest brother approached the blue booth, the nearby boat's horn blaring out loudly. The woman in charge of distributing tickets was clearing up her desk; the chairs by her were empty.

"We're closing now," she explained brusquely. "You'll have to get your tickets tomorrow."

"When does the next boat to Costa del Sol leave?"

"The Interlude's going in just under an hour." The woman jerked her head in the direction of the boat surrounded by harried people. "But like I said, tickets tomorrow. So 8:30's Morning Rose is your boat."

"Thank y--," Yazoo replied, but he faltered on seeing Kadaj set down some gil on the woman's paper loaded desk. Souba knocked against Yazoo's leg.

"You have enough time to talk to us, so three tickets for the Intruder please," Kadaj requested, adding in a whisper to Yazoo, "I even said please!"

The woman sighed, exasperated. However her face softened, and Yazoo thought that she had relented because of Kadaj's apparently innocent demeanour.

"All right then," she agreed, swivelling round on her chair. "And it's the Interlude, not the Intruder. How old are you both?"

Yazoo stopped craning his head around to look for Loz. "Seventeen and twelve."

"Still kids then." She tapped on the keyboard. "Two kids and an adult?"

"Yes, Loz is eighteen," Yazoo said, raising his voice a little to cover Kadaj's comment regarding Loz and his mental age. He was handed three slips of paper. They paid and thanked the woman and quickly left the booth. Although Kadaj asked to look after his ticket, Yazoo refused, slipping the items in his pocket.

"Can you see Loz?"

"Can I have a piggyback?"

Yazoo narrowly avoided having his side knocked by a particularly lethal briefcase. He squinted, searching for anything silver. Kadaj repeated his question, oddly patient.

"Don't, Kadaj," he replied, "we need to find Loz before he gets us a room booked."

He began to walk down the long stretch of road as fast as he could without looking too suspicious; Kadaj followed, but with such a slow pace, that Yazoo gave in, exhaling resignedly and bending down.

"Come on then," he grumbled. Kadaj's weight greeted his back and Yazoo hoisted him up by the back of his knees. Arms rested atop his head, pulling back his fringe and letting the strands fall. Though fretting over Loz's whereabouts, Yazoo couldn't help but feel somewhat content to be carrying Kadaj, even if he was quite heavy and a bit too old for piggybacks (in Kadaj's defence, the youngest one would no doubt point out, he was very short for his age).

"I can see much better now," Kadaj said. "LOZ!"

Yazoo nearly dropped Kadaj, but he quickly composed himself, and using the youngest's legs, he jiggled him up and down.

"Be quiet Kadaj, people are looking."

But nobody was. In such a bustling city with ferries ready to leave and helicopters wanting to depart, no one bothered to see who the strange boy was, sat on his brother shouting.

They found Loz a few minutes later, stood with a middle-aged man attempting to help him. The man appeared to look exasperated; Yazoo smiled inwardly. For the first time, he was glad that Loz's sense of direction was so awful.

"Loz." Yazoo joined him and grabbed his elbow. "We've got tickets – the boat's leaving in an hour."

Joining the large crowd by the gangway was, typically, troublesome. The brothers hurried back to their truck, carrying as much as possible and having to leave behind some things due to the lack of hands. Once or twice, Yazoo lost sight of Kadaj and panicked, only to find the youngest was behind him. In the end, Yazoo drilled it into Kadaj's head to never leave his side.

The gangway was lowered, whereby Kadaj excitedly clambered up it, doing as Yazoo had said and keeping in pace with him. They were checked for tickets and assigned a cabin; they dropped off their things and headed back onto deck.

Kadaj had opted to look over the railing, but it proved too high for him. Instead, he stuck his head out from between the two rails, watching the foam spraying as the boat set off. Loz sat on the bench, counting gil; every now and then, his eyes would flick to the bar just visible inside. Yazoo was feeling quite queasy, politely turning down Kadaj's suggestion of joining him. The middle brother took a seat by Loz, letting his eyes fall shut. Maybe it would be better for him to sleep.

The darkness only served to intensify the bobbing of the boat. He opened his eyes again, exhaling. Kadaj was mumbling away. Loz had disappeared. His stomach lurched in time with the rocking. He clutched it.

"Hey, hold up there laddie!"

Yazoo started. Where previously it had been somewhat quiet, an impatient steward had fought past other passengers, addressing Kadaj.

"Safety rules apply here, kid, maybe not at your house, but we _do not_ stick our heads out of railings. Where's the responsible adult who's supposed to be looking after you?" The steward's gaze ignored Yazoo quite pointedly, as a gesture of implying that sitting there on the bench, paying no mind to a child nearly falling off the boat, was not the makings of a 'responsible adult'.

Kadaj slowly crawled away from the railing as Loz joined them.

"Responsible adult? That'd be me." Loz prodded his chest with emphasis. In his other hand swung a beer bottle. Yazoo quirked a brow. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes there is," the steward answered huffily. He was astonishingly unperturbed by Loz's muscles. "It's your responsibility to make sure that kid doesn't hang over the railings. It's violating the rules of safety and precautions, and you would do well to teach him that."

"You're kidding, right?" said Loz. "He don't listen to me! I mean uh…yes sir," he finished. He fiddled with the rim of the beer bottle.

"How do boats work, mister?" Kadaj gripped the railing with one hand and got onto his feet. The steward stopped straightening his shirt. "I mean, how does it float? I guess it must be really heavy, with all our baggage and Loz on here."

Loz rolled his eyes, taking a sip of beer. In spite of his hands on his hips, giving the look of annoyance, Kadaj was actually very patient, green eyes watching every move of the steward.

"Well uh…I dunno, I'm just an attendant. We do have a souvenir shop downstairs though: they sell all sorts of books about transport there. You might be able to find the answer in one of those."

The steward left, giving a final warning about the railing, as well as a funny look. Kadaj instantly warmed up to the idea of visiting a shop.

"Why don't we go and have a look?" He hoisted Yazoo onto his feet by the elbow. Yazoo swore that without Kadaj's help, he wouldn't have been able to stand up. Loz waved a hand, saying, "You two go on ahead, I'll wait here."

They went below deck, Kadaj leading Yazoo by his shirt sleeve. Thankfully, there were signs that gave directions to the souvenir shop; Kadaj's sense of direction was no better than Loz's, and Yazoo was in no mood to take charge with an upset stomach. He followed Kadaj without complaint.

The shop was cluttered, similar to the brothers' bedroom back in Midgar. Yazoo had to be very careful; the aisles could only accommodate the width of one person, and turning around guaranteed something to tumble from the shelves.

Kadaj was quite content to crouch down by the shelves that displayed books, pulling them down into his lap and having a flick through. Yazoo raked his hair, trying to push away his thoughts of nausea. Instead, he browsed through the postcards of the sights of Junon.

"Hey, Yazoo?" Kadaj spoke up after a few minutes. The middle brother wiped his forehead.

"Y-yes?"

"Why is Loz drinking?"

Yazoo put the postcards back. "I…I don't really know. He's old enough to be able to – he probably j-just wants to try it out."

"Loz tries too hard to be all grown up," Kadaj remarked lazily. He slotted a book back on the shelf and stood on tiptoe to get another one. "There's more to an adult than drinking beer and getting adult tickets for the boat."

"Well, Loz looks after you," pointed out Yazoo. "Everything he does…it's your safety that comes first. There's nothing more adult like than that."

There was no answer from Kadaj, and during the few minutes of no conversation, Yazoo felt that nausea wash over him again. Kadaj read through the contents of a large hardback book.

"Have you chosen a book?" Yazoo swallowed, running a tongue over his dry lips. When was the last time he had felt this awful?

Kadaj answered with a blink, and chose the hardback, checking the price and then showing it.

"_The Encyclopaedia of Transport_," Yazoo read. Kadaj nodded eagerly.

"It's got boats, cars, airships, everything," he enthused. Then, his hold on the book loosened somewhat. "…Are you okay?"

Yazoo was, to say the least, startled. It was one thing for Kadaj to care, but an entirely new thing for him to be so polite about it. In all honesty, Yazoo was expecting a, "The hell is wrong with you?"

He wiped at his sweating forehead again and swore his feet momentarily left the floor when the boat rocked. Kadaj shook his arms.

"…I'm s-sick," Yazoo managed. Seeing two of Kadaj was not a good sign.

"Sick?" Kadaj repeated. "What, in a perverted way?"

"_No_," Yazoo snapped impatiently, "It's this boat…I…I really don't feel well."

The next thing Yazoo knew, he had fallen forwards, and with a small but strong grip on his arm, he was guided by a twelve-year-old to the counter, dragged down to match his height; the floor swung from left to right, the shop was brightening and then dimming. The uncomfortable feeling in his stomach grew stronger.

The shop disappeared from view; Yazoo could see a plastic bag, where the transport book now sat in, as well as the hilt of Souba glistening from the sun's rays. So they had made it onto the deck. Yazoo craned his neck to catch a glimpse of a grand sunset; the wind was cool and refreshing. However, his neck persisted and he dropped his head; it was unbearably heavy. He was pushed onto a bench; a hand greeted his forehead.

"Damn Loz, he said he'd wait here…ran off to some place, hasn't he?" muttered Kadaj under his breath. "Can you believe that stupid git?"

He pushed back Yazoo's fringe. "And you, coming down with this disease or something."

"It's okay Kadaj," Yazoo replied. He forced himself to sit up straighter. Kadaj was stood in front of him, arms crossed, studying him disbelievingly. "It's just the rocking of the boat. I'm guessing it will take a while to get used to."

Kadaj's frown deepened in thought, a look that was hardly typical to that of a child. He paced the length of the bench, Souba swinging in time.

"Shall I get Loz?"

Yazoo waved his hands in protest – bothering both brothers was not something he wanted to do. He could see the annoyance etched in Kadaj's face: the furrowed eyebrows, darting orbs. But when Kadaj flopped down next to him on the bench, he was surprisingly calm. Yazoo had expected for his brother to be more open about his frustration.

"Here, why don't you drink something." Kadaj passed him his water bottle. "You're never ill…"

"…I don't know what's gotten into me."

Nearby, a group of people cheered. Yazoo presumed that they were in the bar, celebrating for some reason or another. How could people stand the swaying of the boat? The way the world spun around your feet, the odd patterns that danced in front of your eyes?

He sank back into the bench groaning, closing his eyes. It was immensely saddening to see everyone else so cheerful; was it only Yazoo who got like this? Was he allergic to the sea, was that it?

Everything came back into focus slowly when he reopened his eyes. To his left, Kadaj had decided to start reading the book on transport, evidently immersed in it. But not enough to ignore him, for which Yazoo was both surprised and grateful for.

"Don't think about it," the youngest advised. "Just imagine we're back at Bill's, and you're outside, sleeping."

Kadaj settled closer, the corner of his book digging into Yazoo's thigh. He turned the page. Yazoo was partly enthralled to see Kadaj so interested in a book. The youngest had always laughed at Yazoo's hobby for reading (and even more so with his love for laundry), but boats and cars seemed to have done the trick.

Yazoo was starting to feel refreshed. It could be due to the cool weather, as well as the fresh air. However, what comforted him more, more than the weather and air combined, was the silvery strands that flicked into his face every now and then, the round green eyes that left the book every so often to cast him a concerned look.

It was odd. Loz was usually the one to stick by him when Yazoo needed someone, but in the rarest of moments, it was Kadaj who had snatched that role, offering no child's hand but that of an adult, even if his legs did swing off the bench innocently.

Yazoo rested, dreaming of chocobos and the long tufts of grass. His arm was warm from where it touched Kadaj's. The youngest read in silence, weaving the strands of Souba through the gaps of his fingers, studying in avid fascination the structure and mechanics of the motorcycle.

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**A/N:** The mystery of the motorbike is solved! Honestly, there are some things about the AC movie I can't stand when they say that KYL are Sephiroth's 'will'. Yeah, and they got free motorbikes and clothes with it did they:(

Right, rant over, now's the time when you move the mouse to the bottom left and submit a review! Let me know what you think of this chapter! It wasn't part of the plan, but VelvetNightmare13's request fitted in quite nicely with it, so why not?


	9. Three's Company

**A/N:** -tries to hide while doing A/N- I am so sorry everyone!! This is the longest length of time I haven't updated any fic, and it won't happen again, I promise. I apologise for people who thought I abandoned this fic - I wouldn't do that at all, I want to finish every story I write, and in no way will I leave a story unfinished without saying so. With that said, I hope that those who have alerted this will continue to read without feeling too mad...

**Note:** Just to say a big thank you to **343 Guilty Spark** for being the beta reader for this fic :)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix. -sigh-

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 9: Three's Company**

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If there was anything that could make Yazoo feel remotely better, it was the faces of his brothers. He could vaguely remember being taken to bed; he had wondered how Kadaj could have possibly carried him by himself, but somewhere along the way, Yazoo presumed, Loz had intervened and helped.

He was awoken by several light taps on the shoulder. The faint rocking of the boat greeted him, as well as both Loz and Kadaj, peering from either side of the bed. The room was lit by the table lamp at the youngest's bed. The concern Loz had was evident by his anxious face, and Kadaj appeared to feel the same, though admittedly, those furrowed eyebrows implied that it was more annoyance he was feeling. It was Loz who spoke first, hand resting on Yazoo's left arm.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not bad," Yazoo lied. He ignored the regular throbbing somewhere in his head, blinking several times to try and adjust his pupils.

Unsurprisingly, Loz fell for the lie, giving a hearty clap on his shoulder. "That's good to hear. We've reached Costa del Sol."

"_Nearly_," Kadaj corrected. He peered out of a nearby porthole grumpily. "This boat's still docking."

He swung Souba round a wrist with impatience – a trick Yazoo never knew he could do. "I can probably build a raft and get across the ocean quicker than this stupid ship."

"Kadaj, stop whinging," Loz answered automatically. He gestured for Yazoo to get out of bed. "Look, uh…" he started quietly. "I should've been with you when you fell ill…I'm sorry…"

Yazoo had to strain his ears to hear him. Apparently, Loz had adopted such a low voice to prevent Kadaj from hearing, but it failed.

"Too busy faffing around in the bar, weren't you?"

Loz winced, but Kadaj felt no sympathy, rolling his large eyes and giving a dramatic wave of the hand.

"I had to lug Yazoo all the way back here when he got all drowsy on deck, _by myself _in case you've forgotten, and search for you afterwards. I was expecting to find you in the bog or on deck like you said, but no, where do I find you? Perched on a barstool watching a game of darts…!"

Loz was shrinking by the minute, and on seeing such a sorry sight, Yazoo quickly intervened, putting his tiredness and headache aside.

"Leave him Kadaj, it's not like he knew I was ill. You can't blame him for being curious and wanting to have fun."

Kadaj gave a derisive 'hmph', as though he could blame Loz as much as he wanted, thank you very much. But finally, he stopped his mild tantrum and sank onto his bed face down with a loud sigh.

"I just want to get off this boat and catch an airship to Nibelheim…" he explained his irritability to his pillow. "…Taking too long."

Loz exchanged looks with Yazoo. Neither of them had it in their power to speed up the mooring of the boat, no matter how large an outburst their brother threw.

"I know how you feel – impatient and all that," Loz opted to say. "I'm the same. So is Yazoo. We're all in the same boat."

The eldest chuckled half-heartedly at his comment as the room gave a well-timed sway. Yazoo shook his head with a smile, clapped his brother's shoulder, and waited patiently for the boat to moor. Through the porthole, the appearance of the stretch of yellow land began to come into view tantalisingly.

If Yazoo and Loz had thought about ways to reach Nibelheim quicker on reaching Costa del Sol, it would have been an effort well wasted. The rocky gangway had been set down, queues of people longing to get off had already started, and from the deck of the boat, Kadaj only had eyes for one thing.

His gaze traced a semicircle from left to right as a beach ball bounced from the aggressive girl in the blue bikini to the lean man with a jutted jaw. Between them, a teenager leapt up in an attempt to catch the ball, failing in his attempt and scolding the girl afterwards.

Kadaj looked from the game to his brothers, apparently realising that his party had the same amount of members to play the game. Going down the gangway at a pace that could only imply hurt, Loz grumbled, "He's such a hypocrite. One minute he's having a go at me for enjoying myself, and next minute, he's doing exactly the same thing."

Yazoo answered with his impartial nod of understanding. He wasn't about to let Kadaj catch him siding with Loz.

The eldest added mulishly, this time so that Kadaj could hear, "What about going to Nibelheim? The airship?"

Kadaj stopped tracing shapes in the sand-layered concrete of the port. It took immense effort to move his gaze away from a nearby surf shop.

"Well," the youngest said slowly, "…I'm pretty tired of travelling, and Yazoo's only just got better after that boat trip…" His voice strengthened when he knew he had a point "…right, Yazoo? You want a break too, don't you – unless you're that eager to fall ill again."

Yazoo looked at Loz helplessly. How could he object to that? He'd choose ball games, shaved ice and refreshing sunlight over motion sickness any day. Who wouldn't?

Jaw clenched, Loz said nothing, opting to follow his brothers grudgingly. They went down a set of steps to the main bustle of the town, by which time Kadaj was gesturing for them to hurry up and match his eager pace.

"There's an inn there," Yazoo spotted. "I'll go get us booked in for the night."

Loz made a move to come along as well, but Yazoo shook his head, shaking their wallet of gil and slipping it into his brother's hand.

"Buy Kadaj whatever he wants."

Leaving Loz ("_Whatever_ he wants? We'll have no money left!") was rather refreshing to the middle brother. Not in the sense that he wanted to get away, but it left a rather pleasant scenario for him to imagine: that they were not on a mission to find Sephiroth and destroy Kadaj on the way; they were three brothers, travelling for the sake of being together, each with their own responsibilities, hobbies, and all the time in the world.

Yazoo didn't need a mother or Sephiroth. He was happy like this. Just the three of them.

"Excuse me? Sir? You're signing in the wrong box."

Yazoo started, quickly corrected his error and thanked the man who came to take up his luggage.

He exited the inn feeling content (booking the only available room of two beds didn't seem to be a pressing matter at the moment), and found that it wasn't hard to spot his brothers. They stood together, lingering near a shop and hunched over something Yazoo couldn't quite make out.

It was then that he noticed the stark contrast between Costa del Sol and Junon. The latter's people were on a tight schedule, either not caring or not noticing the obvious silvery heads lost at the port, uninterested in anything but their work.

At Costa del Sol however, it felt as though everyone was watching him or his brothers. Perched on the wall were several girls in bikinis, eyeing him through large sunglasses and whispering to each other. Behind him, several children gawped. They had – quite rightly – never seen silver hair before.

Loz was in a dilemma regarding two sets of shorts. Rocking on his heels with patience that was ever-wavering, Kadaj arched his brows and beckoned for Loz to get a move on.

"You can either choose the black shorts or the one that looks like the dye machine blew up."

"Huh?"

Yazoo looked at the pair of shorts dyed every possible colour. Then he turned back to Loz.

"Everyone else is wearing shorts," Kadaj explained for him. "The shopkeeper said that multicoloured shorts are the hype."

Yazoo smiled, though it hardly meant he was happy. "Do you fall for everything, Loz?" he accused. "Blatantly he wanted one of us to make a fool of ourselves."

He took the multicoloured shorts for himself, deciding that he could probably pull it off. Besides, Loz was clinging onto the black shorts possessively, so it wasn't as though he had much choice to begin with.

Kadaj gave a formal nod to conclude the end of the problem, and suggested they go to the beach. It didn't sound like a bad idea at all, so they went to their newly booked room to get changed, left behind their weapons and (if you were not Yazoo) went paddling.

The middle brother had opted to sit on the sand, content to watch the waves roll in, attack Kadaj and Loz's legs and shrink back again, only to come back stronger. As far as he knew, none of them could swim, though Kadaj's ability to pick up on things in no time could prove otherwise. In fact, looking around the beach, the majority of people seemed content to _not _swim, sunbathing on colourful beach mats, playing with balls or…quite oddly, striking up a conversation with him.

She was wet from having just come out of the sea, with straggly hair that stuck to her face. The strings of her bikini were left marks on her body, and sand clung onto her ankles. She grinned as though he had the funniest face in the world.

"So. By yourself?"

"What? No." Yazoo jerked his head very slightly in Loz's general direction.

"Brothers?" the girl asked next. Yazoo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What was with the questions? Did this girl think she knew him?

He answered, "Yes" but only very grudgingly. She gave an understanding nod, letting her eyes study him. Kadaj shouted something to Loz and kicked up some water.

"You have a very cute brother."

"Mm." Yazoo wondered why people sat on beach mats – the sand was very warm and comfortable. The girl wasn't relenting.

"How old is he?"

"Twelve."

"Oh…I see. And how old are you?"

"Twelve," he answered dully, inwardly grinning at her quizzical look.

At this rate, she could write a whole book about him. Yazoo seriously didn't get it. Nobody but scientists had shown a trace of interest in him, and now some random girl was sitting next to him smiling at everything he said. He nearly threw his arms up in the air with relief when Loz came to the rescue, combing wet hair away from Kadaj's face (the youngest had slipped into the water) and trudging up the beach towards him.

"Is he bothering you?" was the first thing Loz said, unhelpful in its statement but relieving since the girl had now moved her attention onto him.

"No, we were just talking."

She was smiling again. Loz had become the next victim of her predator-like eyes. What _was _she looking for?

"Talking about what?" Loz demanded, suddenly miffed. Yazoo opened his mouth to answer, ready to tell Loz that it was nothing particularly threatening or important at all, but she had got there before him.

"Well, I was just asking if he'd care to join me for a drink. Assuming he's older than twelve."

Again, he had been beaten: Kadaj had launched into the conversation quicker than him.

"I don't think he does care, to be honest." The youngest crossed his arms. "He doesn't care for anyone but us. His brothers. We're all he has and we're all he'll ever need."

It was either Kadaj's words, Yazoo's smile of agreement or Loz's absent knuckle-cracking that drove her away. She flounced off, muttering something about only Yazoo's looks being charming, nothing else. And a low undertone about a brat.

"There's something about these people being overly friendly." Loz plopped down at Yazoo's side, contemplating his statement over a pebble. "It's weird."

As if by rehearsal, an overly friendly man gestured, hinting that he wanted for them to buy shaved ice. Yazoo supposed that the three of them were quite the vulnerable tourists, since it hadn't taken much to persuade Kadaj, who strolled up to the stall, having a hard time deciding which flavour to have.

Loz had learnt from his shorts shopping to make things fair between him and Yazoo. He handed back the wallet and held out at arm's length strawberry flavoured ice – the same as his.

"Blueberry." Kadaj noticed Yazoo quirking his eyebrow at him as they ate. He was almost halfway through the sweet, flicking his fringe aside every now and then when it got in the way. "I haven't eaten anything blue."

Loz laughed into his shaved ice. "And for good reason. Your lips have gone blue as well. You look like someone out of a horror movie. Corpse or something. You know, you get blue lips when you're dying."

That was the first time Yazoo had heard that. "Are you sure?" he said sceptically. Kadaj snorted, swirling his straw around.

"Well, unfortunately for you Loz, I'm not dead just yet."

The brothers grinned simultaneously; Yazoo watched some pinkish ice slip off the end of his straw as it began to melt in the heat. He could really get used to this. Just the sunshine, the sand, his brothers and their smiles. For a brief moment of contemplation, he wished that he could make Loz and Kadaj understand the perfection of the life already. They couldn't see it, especially Kadaj. But for that small space of time, lost in his thoughts and the softening ice, he longed for them to understand how he felt.

They didn't need to go to Nibelheim. There wasn't going to be anything. Just a small, desolated town. And whispers. Whispers of a General, who had captivated a boy without even really meeting him. A General who pulled the strings to their existence, drawing them to where he wanted them.

Yazoo didn't want that. He wanted…

Blueberry shaved ice rolled onto the sand, picking up the tiny grains, staining them blue rapidly. There was no time for Yazoo to even ask what Kadaj was doing. The youngest brother had scrambled onto his feet about as quickly as he had ran for the sand, but there was no eagerness in his run. Of what Yazoo had managed to see, lasting barely a second, Kadaj's face was livid. Strands of his hair had caught in his mouth, his eyes were flashing so dangerously, Yazoo began to panic.

From Kadaj's mouth came a long, anguished scream, as though he was being struck by something invisible. He raced across the beach, kicking up sand. Loz was quick to get on his feet, chasing him.

"Kadaj!"

Yazoo ran. He raced as fast as he could, and by the time he had reached Loz, a commotion had broke out. Frightened beach goers backed away as Kadaj tackled a skinny man in shorts to a beach mat. Loz was struggling to pull his brother away while avoiding an elbow in his eye.

"Kadaj what are you doing?" Loz shouted. "Leave the guy alone! We're not here to fight!" He jerked his head round, looking for something, which Yazoo realised, was him. "Yazoo! Don't just _stand_ there!!"

It was quite alien to see such a scene, Yazoo later decided. Not only had he never seen Kadaj so furious, but the youngest was almost on-par with Loz's strength. He battled with the burly arms round his shoulders, yelling at Loz to let go of him.

Yazoo leapt forwards, his instinct telling him to help up the man who had been assaulted. But he drew his arms back when Kadaj screeched, "Don't touch him!! Don't touch him Yazoo!"

He obeyed, mainly out of fear that Kadaj would succumb to full madness if he did. Loz still struggled, attempting to drag his brother backwards, away from the man now on his hands and knees.

"Don't touch him," Kadaj breathed, suddenly calm, "I'll do it. I'll sort him out. _I'm_ in charge. Let go of me, Loz"

Yazoo nodded, speechless. Loz loosened his grip as told, also at a loss for words. His eyes travelled to study the stranger getting to his feet.

"Ow ow ow…my back…" he complained under his breath.

Yazoo's heart recognised the man before his brain did. And all of a sudden, he could comprehend to Kadaj's rage, feeling it bubble up inside him too. Loz had reached out an arm, dragging Yazoo closer, as they both glared at the bony old man with thinning hair that ended in a greasy black ponytail.

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**A/N:** Mm, well, I don't know if you'd call that a cliffhanger, but if I continued any further, it'd make this chapter a bit too long. Comments are, of course, really welcome :) I'll update again soon (and this time, soon does not mean two months). Thanks for reading!


	10. Follow the Leader

**A/N:** I don't know how to start off really. Just to say massive, massive, apologies for the two year wait. Please check my profile for explanation/info about fic continuation/general boring stuff.

On ze plus side, told you I won't let a story go unfinished without my saying so :)

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix.

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 10: Follow the Leader**

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In retrospect, Yazoo would probably laugh at their situation: the three of them clad in swimming shorts with sand between their toes, thinking themselves dignified, ready to break into a fight in the view of a thousand eyes.

Professor Hojo was the first to speak, still wincing from the apparent pain in his back. "…Ouch…completely uncalled for…"

"Completely called for, you old fogey!" Kadaj corrected with a voice that pierced Yazoo's ears. "And breaking your back isn't the last of it. I'll skewer you through the neck and serve you up like a kebab. Yazoo! Pass me Souba."

But before Yazoo could protest, Kadaj had appeared to realise that the sword in question was back at their inn, safe under his bed. They were defenceless and consequently, the majority of their threats were empty. The only consolation they had was Loz's brute strength, but the oldest brother was gradually backing away from the confrontation.

"I know your voice," said Hojo, and he straightened to reveal a curious expression. "Kadaj! And your brothers too! Yazoo and eh…well, who would have thought? I go on holiday to escape from work, but it just isn't possible, is it?"

"Well, we've been trying to escape from you, and that isn't possible either," Kadaj snapped hotly. "What are you doing here? Sunbathing, I don't think so! You've probably got some other lab rat locked up in your place, haven't you?"

"I'm a scientist," Hojo replied in defence. The cluster of other beach goers seemed to relax at this, apparently satisfied that the position of scientist was good enough of a reason to have lab rats. Moreover, their eyes hardened when they looked at the brothers – now that it was clear they were experiments, the warm atmosphere had gone in an instant. The girl who had spoken to Yazoo earlier was positively horrified.

"Loz!" Kadaj commanded next. "Kill him."

Hojo made a small sound in recognition at the mention of Loz's name as it triggered his memory. But Loz didn't move. He was rooted to the spot, arms stuck at his side as though someone invisible had a grip on them. Hojo cracked a smile.

"Don't you dare be a coward now!" Kadaj said through his teeth. Loz's eyes flickered, and Yazoo had realised something dawned on the eldest. Loz wasn't backing out – he was planning.

It had taken less than a second for Loz to leap forwards, seize Hojo by the neck and force him into an empty deckchair. It smashed apart on impact and several screamed at the violence. Now, Hojo was sat on the sand, head wrenched upwards, at the full mercy of Loz.

Those who didn't know him gawked at the immense speed in which Loz had moved. There hadn't even been a second for Hojo to react; not even a chance for Yazoo to hold his brother back. And Yazoo, as composed as he usually was, was suddenly shocked and afraid, not at Loz's agility, but the words he spoke.

"Nibelheim," he said, enunciating each syllable. "Why don't you tell us what happened at Nibelheim, and I'll spare you."

The crowd began to edge away from the fight; Yazoo felt himself become part of them. He took a step backwards and his foot sank into wet sand with a squelch. This couldn't be happening – was Nibelheim really worth all this?

"That's a good plan for once, Loz," Kadaj said heartily, and his enthusiasm reflected in cold eyes and a look of hunger. His anger disappeared and in its stead, spelling perhaps far more danger, was amusement. "We might be taking a stroll now, but you know what we're doing in the grand scheme of things. Right, Professor?"

Hojo wheezed, and Loz's grip slackened. The beach goers pretended they couldn't see the confrontation. After all, they were just holidaymakers. What chance did they – or Yazoo – have against two powerful clones with a mission?

"You're going to Nibelheim?" Hojo said. "…You won't find anything."

"Oh I will," Kadaj answered matter-of-factly. "I think everything I need to know about myself will be there. And Sephiroth will be there too. He's waited, and I've waited, far too long to meet. So don't tell me I won't find anything. Tell me what I will find. Harder, Loz."

Hojo choked as Loz complied, clenching the scientist's neck like a can he longed to pop open. And when Hojo groaned and his eyes lolled back into his head, Yazoo's humanity kick started and he ran forwards.

"Kadaj, don't do this, let's think of other ways to--"

"It's okay, Yazoo," interrupted Kadaj, and Yazoo was mildly taken aback at the gentleness of his voice. "I won't let that piece of filth come anywhere near you. Now," he said to Hojo, "tell me what I will find."

Loz's grip relaxed, giving Hojo a chance to speak. "…Ashes."

"Ashes?" repeated Kadaj.

"Just ashes and remains. You'll see when you get there." Hojo's skinny hands tried to pry Loz away from him, but his efforts were not rewarded. Kadaj pouted like a child denied a present in his grasp.

"You're giving me all the wrong answers. Carry on at this rate and Loz'll have to squeeze the words out of you…"

"He burned the place down," managed Hojo. His dark, shadowed eyes rolled from left to right. "You see, you've grown up knowing you were abnormal, out of place, freaks of nature. He didn't. Not a clue!"

And to the brothers' horror, Hojo broke into a grin. With burning ferocity Yazoo could understand, Loz swung his free hand and punched Hojo's cheek. Kadaj's eyes followed the blow and he laughed openly at the blood that now stained Hojo's teeth.

"This is hopeless, Loz," he said through childish snickers. "He can't help us. We might as well kill him, destroy him the way he destroyed us."

But Hojo looked far from concerned. He watched, half-cringing half-smiling, as Yazoo brought a hand to the back of Kadaj's head, hoping his touch would bring him back to reality.

"Kadaj, he's not worth it. Let's just leave him and forget he was even here."

"If we let him go now I'll regret it later, I know I will!" Kadaj snapped back. "Stay out of it if you don't agree."

"You can't kill him, you're not strong enough." Yazoo shook him and bent to his height. "It's not your decision anyway."

And when Loz realised that that task was on his shoulders, he let out a tiny sound of dissent and his gripping arm slackened. Yazoo leapt at the opportunity. Maintaining a firm hold on Kadaj by the elbow, he poked Loz's side and gave him a pointed look, a glare that told him to stop behaving so rashly just to please Kadaj.

"He's not worth it," Loz murmured in echo of Yazoo. He sounded unconvinced, but he threw Hojo out of his grasp at long last. The scientist's back hit the sand and his head knocked against what remained of a deckchair's arm. From beneath his fringe, Kadaj glared at his brothers and the scientist in turn, furious at how things turned out.

"We're going to let him go?" he hissed. Loz put immense effort in averting his gaze, although Yazoo had noticed the tears quite a while back. "Loz, do it!"

"The predictions I put in for you," Hojo said, getting to shaking feet. Loz's eyes narrowed and his left arm flexed. "They were wrong. All that money and all that time, just to find out I was wrong."

"Wrong?" said Loz. Yazoo should've known that Loz's curiosity would arrive in the most unwarranted of situations.

"The semblance of Sephiroth," said Hojo. Kadaj stopped thrashing about at the General's mention. "The whole time, the whole of my research banked on you. 2-4-C, Kadaj. How wrong I was. It's you – the weak one, the one who I gave up on."

His eyes met Yazoo's, hoping that curiosity would get the better of him too. But Yazoo didn't care about Sephiroth or his links to him. Kadaj glared at him, mouth open in horror, fully aware that somehow, Yazoo had taken a title that was rightfully his.

Hojo began to walk away, wincing from the pain round his neck and the bruise that now stained his cheek. At the sight of his retreating back, Kadaj screeched, "Loz!"

"I can't," answered Loz, and he brought a shaking hand to an eye. "I can't do it."

"Well, I'll do it then!"

But Yazoo tightened his hold on Kadaj as he flailed against him. He was easy to restrain, even without Loz's help. Yazoo took the beats with only the slightest of flinches.

"Yazoo, you idiot! I hate you! I hate you so much!" Kadaj screamed. People were starting to look again.

"…That's fine," he answered, trying to sound offhand. He waited for Hojo to hobble out of their sight before releasing Kadaj. But Kadaj didn't try to chase after Hojo, finally aware that without his brothers' cooperation, he stood little to no chance anyway. He sniffed, wiping furiously at his eyes and muttering to himself.

"Let's go back to the inn," suggested Loz, suddenly defiant and taking charge. "Think things over. Come on Kadaj, get up."

In the end, Loz fireman carried the youngest back to the inn. Kadaj, seemingly exhausted from his numerous outbursts, did not put up a fight. He hung limply, watching as Yazoo trailed after them. Kadaj's eyes met Yazoo's only once or twice, but they reflected innocent hurt. The bloodthirsty desire to kill had long gone, and Yazoo actually wondered if it had been genuine.

"Oh, great!" Loz said enthusiastically when they entered their room. "The air conditioning's working!"

His happy mood was terribly false to Yazoo. He got changed out of his trunks in silence, and his brothers followed suit. After Loz had already done so, Yazoo washed his feet in the bathtub and freed them from sand. Kadaj followed after him, sighing with doleful eyes.

"My throat's sore," he complained.

"I'm not surprised," Yazoo responded, hoping he didn't come across as too harsh.

"I was just angry. He hurt us, Yazoo, and stupid Loz wouldn't listen when we were about to finish him once and for all--"

Yazoo exhaled. "Would it have made a difference? Killing him? If you did somehow succeed in it, you'd only make me – and Loz I'm sure – rather disappointed and angry. Speaking of which, don't boss Loz around. He's an idiot for constantly seeking your approval, but don't take advantage of it."

"I wasn't…"

With a scoff, Yazoo took his feet out the tub and gave Kadaj a withering look. "I know it was nothing short of a nightmare, seeing him again. But you handled it badly. You want to get to Nibelheim, and you have Loz and me in tow. Playing games with Hojo and Loz was selfish and stupid. So grow up, Kadaj."

Yazoo wiped his feet dry and rolled up Kadaj's trousers. He lifted him into the bathtub, deliberately ignoring Kadaj's free flowing tears. Thankfully, and Yazoo was only too grateful for this, Kadaj was in no mood to throw another tantrum. He merely stood in the tub and cried.

"Wash your feet, Kadaj. I'll be out with Loz, so take your time."

He shut the bathroom door, unsurprised that he could still hear Kadaj's sobs from behind it. Loz sat on the floor between the two beds, head against one mattress. He held Dual Hound in his hands, puncturing the silence with loud sighs that roused only a sprig of sympathy from Yazoo.

"You going to have a go at me too?" came Loz's voice, somewhat muffled by an arm over his mouth.

"I'm not having a go at anyone." Yazoo slumped on the bed in Loz's view, using a foot to prod his brother's knee. "It's just that at the moment, I feel I'm the only sane one. Kadaj went mental, but I guess you didn't see it. He was relishing the idea of holding a life in his hands. You know he's bossy and he wants his own way. But not like this. Not like this, Loz."

"…I'm sorry." He blinked back tears. "I don't know what came over me. I just wanted to find out about Nibelheim and I had to hurt him. But when it came to killing, I couldn't do it. I was so revved up but it meant nothing. Couldn't do it. The guy who ripped us to pieces, he was right there in my hands, but I couldn't do it."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Yazoo reached out and spammed his brother's forehead. "And don't try too hard to get into Kadaj's good books, you prat. That's the reason we ended up in this mess."

He paused, and wished he didn't. Kadaj was still wailing, and there was the audible sound of water splashing onto the floor.

"The sooner we get on an airship, the better. We have to get out of here," Loz muttered more to himself. "Maybe there was something in those iced drinks from earlier."

"Or maybe," Yazoo said irritably, "you and Kadaj should stop acting on your questionable instincts. I didn't know what to do with you both out of it."

"Sorry," Loz said again. They fell into silence, which was louder than ever since Kadaj had stopped screaming in the bathroom. The youngest returned with just a sulky glance to offer his brothers. He recoiled at Yazoo's touch and crawled into the vacant bed, burying his head under the pillow.

"Here Loz," said Yazoo, sliding off the other bed. "You take this one, I'll sleep in Kadaj's."

When Loz got up, he felt Yazoo's shoulder and looked visibly awkward.

"What?"

Loz glanced at Kadaj, who lay still in bed, head still hidden. "…What Hojo said…"

"Hojo spoke bull for most of that encounter, Loz."

"But about the 'semblance' to Sephiroth…" Loz continued. He tried to sound uninterested, but it was a hard feat to pull off when they were both so thrown by it. Yazoo had never cared for Sephiroth, but Sephiroth, regrettably, was Kadaj's world. To think that Yazoo had taken that away from him for reasons unknown was unbearable.

"No offence," Loz said, "but…why you? What do you have which Hojo noticed, that Kadaj doesn't have?"

"An even temper?" Yazoo joked, quietly so that only Loz could hear.

In all honesty, Yazoo didn't know. Kadaj was becoming someone very unlike him, bit by bit, every day. It could only be Sephiroth he was turning into. So where did Yazoo – collected, composed Yazoo, who had always been Yazoo through and through – where did he come in all this?

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A/N: You'll notice Kadaj is very bloodthirsty and crazed in this – testament to his AC portrayal. Once again, I apologise for putting this story on hold for so long, but full details are on my profile. Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave feedback if you like. Til next time!


	11. Tug of War

**A/N:** I'm uploading for completion purposes… By now, clone!SHM are obviously non-canon, boring and OOC, but I stumbled across an old draft of chapter 11 while cleaning up my PC, and thought I'd rework and post it. Okay, so it's been one and a half years, but like I said…for completion purposes only.

**Disclaimer:** Characters are all copyright to Square-Enix.

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**Ameagari: After the Rain**

**Chapter 11: Tug of War**

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_Crash._

Yazoo should have guessed that his brother's sulk would carry on to the next day. He, Yazoo, had twelve years of experience in dealing with that tantrum; Kadaj, twelve years of perfecting it; and Loz, twelve years of learning to sleep through it.

_Snooore. _Roll over, grunt, exhale.

Yazoo cast an irritable – though more resigned – look at Loz, before sitting up in bed and confronting the sight opposite him. It had barely hit sunrise. Kadaj was knelt on the floor, re-packing his bag. Yazoo assumed that the crash from earlier was Kadaj dropping his things, and on purpose at that. Kadaj wanted to put on a drama, and he needed an audience. He was already dressed.

He only spared Yazoo with a contemptuous look, which would've been mildly threatening if he didn't have an apple in his mouth. "Goo' morning."

"Morning. Where are you off to?" Yazoo asked the question Kadaj was wordlessly begging to be asked. The youngest brother stood up, took the apple out his mouth and stuck his nose up.

"I'm catching an airship to Nibelheim," he said seriously, as if making a eulogy. "_On my own._"

An imperious wave of the hand, a glare, a resounding huff every time he exhaled. Nothing Yazoo hadn't seen before. He flopped back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "All right then. See you."

He could practically hear Kadaj's hair stand on end. "That's it?" He slammed a hand on the doorknob, threatening. "I really will go, you know. I won't come back to you or dumb Loz, not this time." His voice shook with pride. "I've been planning all night…!"

"Loz isn't dumb," he answered on automatic, and Loz unconsciously agreed with a small grunt. "Not dumb enough to pretend he's abandoning us as a plea for attention, anyway."

_Crash_. For the second time that morning, Kadaj's bag received the brunt of his temper. He marched over to the bed, towering over him. "I've been planning," he said again. "I've already packed your gun. I'm going to sell it so that I can buy a ticket for the airship. Then I'm going to catch a bus from Rocket Town to Nibelheim. They had pamphlets downstairs at the front desk all about it."

Yazoo nudged his head to the side, keeping the action subtle. Sure enough, he only felt feathers and softness. His gun had been taken, right from under his head, while he had been sleeping. How had Kadaj managed it? Yazoo was a light sleeper; he woke up at the sound of anything.

"You were sleeping like a rock," Kadaj ploughed on, correctly guessing his train of thought. His eyes were bright with malice and happiness. The emotions coincided a little too harmoniously. "You were worn out from all that lecturing yesterday, I bet. Well, I'm sick of your lectures, so that's another reason for me going. The main reason I'm leaving is obviously because you're holding me back. Pretty much all the time."

Yazoo sat up again. Unfazed, Kadaj chomped on his apple, only eating about half of it, before giving up and tossing it onto Loz's bed.

"I held you back yesterday because you ordered Loz to kill Hojo. And what's important isn't whom you were targeting, but rather that you dared to bully Loz into doing such a thing. He's six years older than you. What gives you the right to boss him around?"

Kadaj scoffed. "Surprise, surprise, you're taking Loz's side…"

"And surprise, surprise, you're being ever so grown up about it."

He watched as Kadaj's face contorted, smoothly transitioning from petulance to humiliation. He hitched up his trousers and stalked to the door, one of his laces trailing behind him. "I can't be grown up with you ragging on me all the time."

"That's very true." Yazoo turned his head to look left. Loz was still sleeping. "Well, don't let me keep you."

"Bye." Kadaj yanked open the door. "No need to see me out."

Kadaj nodded with satisfaction at his last words, slinging his bag onto his back. That he had deemed Souba unworthy of coming along did not go amiss. Yazoo waited three seconds, using that time to slide his legs out of bed, before calling lightly, taking extra care to sound pleading, "Don't go, Kadaj. Come back."

There was silence, except for the clear cut sound of Kadaj's triumph. Just before the door swung shut onto him, Kadaj caught it and hissed, "I knew it!" Yazoo didn't need to see it to know there was a smirk on his brother's face.

"Don't go," he said again, and then he let a smirk of his own cross his face. He let Kadaj relish in supposed victory for a moment, before adding, "Your sweater's back to front."

A flash of a green glare was Yazoo's single warning and ultimately, his desired outcome. Kadaj stomped back inside, slammed the door and marched over to him.

"You! You're such a _bitch_! I'm just about to leave you for good and you _still_treat me like a baby!" He smacked him on the arm for emphasis, cheeks burning red, screaming incoherent words and beating his fists against Yazoo. As usual, Kadaj ventured through a flurry of conflicting emotions – embarrassment, relief, humour, exhaustion – and wound up settling for his default, whininess. Yazoo narrowly missed having his eye poked out, but he welcomed this childish strop over his insanity any day.

"Stop flailing, honestly. You're like a fish out of water." Yazoo seized Kadaj's arms, forcing them out of their sleeves so that he could turn the sweater round. "And don't scowl like that. It's not my fault you made a fool out of yourself."

"Well, both sides of this top look the—"

"You know that's not what I mean. Running away and leaving us? Seriously, Kadaj? You'd get as far as the bottom of the stairs." Yazoo was rewarded with another glare, but by now, he was immune to it. "Two words for you. _Empty_, and _threat._"

"Yeah? I have two words for you—"

"Stupid Yazoo, I know," he cut in. Honestly, his brother was like a broken record. "You have ideas and plans and plenty of temper, but what good are they if you're stuck on your own?"

"I'd find new people. Friends," he muttered. His answer lacked heart.

"You can't get friends," he replied, keeping his voice light to mask what little sadness he felt from the statement. "That's why you have Loz and me. Besides," he finished slyly, "I've deliberately brought you up so that you'll always need me to tie your shoelaces and Loz to feed you."

There was the start of a scowl. Then, Kadaj's shoulders relaxed, and he rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "One day I'll be deadly serious when I abandon you, and you'll regret playing around and taking it as a joke. Mark my words."

"Okay, fine." He had taken Kadaj's dramatics into stride until now, when he just realised that Kadaj _did_ have a 'friend' that neither Yazoo nor Loz had. His gut wrenched at the thought. The realisation caught him by so much surprise, that he practically dropped to the floor to serve the dual purpose of doing up Kadaj's laces and hiding his face from view.

Kadaj's hand played with Yazoo's fringe, curbing both brothers' annoyance with one another. "…He told me that I don't need either of you."

It was just as Yazoo had supposed, a nasty fact he liked to pretend he had no knowledge of. But he did know, so painfully aware that the more Kadaj matured, the more superfluous he and Loz became. With Sephiroth alluding to it, Kadaj would work out their irrelevance and then what? By now, Yazoo was certain that Kadaj could easily abandon them for Sephiroth. How much time before Kadaj's threats became the truth? How much longer before Yazoo and Loz had to give up the ball in their court and pass it to their young brother?

"Listen, Kadaj. Perhaps you heard him wrong," Yazoo opted to reply.

"Hmph. He was quite clear about it, actually."

"And you believe him, I take it?"

"…He had me for a second," he replied, adopting a solemn, lifeless voice that sounded uncannily like Yazoo's own. Yazoo couldn't disguise his relief.

"Look," Kadaj snapped, regaining his usual nasal tone, "this wouldn't be an issue if you learned to stop smothering me. I can look after myself, honest. I can be responsible if you give me the chance. I'm not always going to be twelve."

_I know_, Yazoo thought, weary at the reminder. "I'll give you a chance to be responsible, then. Why don't you go and check with the front desk for information about airships? See if you can find a timetable, the fare for us three and where to buy our tickets from. But before you get onto that, fetch some breakfast for Loz." He countered Kadaj's frown with a raised eyebrow of warning. "You asked for responsibilities, so you're getting them. I'm not going to let you think it's all fun and games. Loz went to sleep upset like yourself; breakfast – and a heartfelt apology from you – will cheer him up."

Kadaj nudged his bag aside, wandering over to the door again. "I didn't say a word of complaint, by the way, so there's no need for the look. I'll get Loz a breakfast fit for a king. Show you how responsible I am, you big girl…" He fell into a low, vehement series of mutters.

"And for future reference," Yazoo called after him, "responsible people don't throw tantrums at every available opportunity!"

"I wasn't throwing a tantrum!" Kadaj screamed back up the stairs. "I was being emotional, there's a big difference!"

A grunt from behind Yazoo caught his attention, and he turned to see Loz roll over in his sleep, mumbling, "Urgh, shut up…"

"Awake now?"

"Been awake ages…" came Loz's muffled – and very unconvincing – response.

"Being half-conscious doesn't count."

"Ugh…awake, promise…what's…what is that?"

Yazoo picked up Kadaj's half-eaten apple (which had rolled to rest in front of Loz's sleepy face) and dropped it into the bin. "You can sleep for a bit longer. Kadaj has gone to fetch you some breakfast. He's making an effort to be nice, so return the favour, okay?"

Loz just burrowed deeper into his quilts. "Mm, fine…I heard you arguing…talking…he had a tantrum. Was…serious, Yazoo?"

"Very serious, but don't you worry. You'll forget about it and go back to sleep."

"F…forget what?"

"See?" He slapped Loz's shoulder. "Just sleep."

He grabbed some fresh clothes, retrieved his gun from Kadaj's bag and shut himself in the bathroom. He leaned against the door with more force than required. Suddenly exhausted, Yazoo had to wonder what godly trait made Kadaj so skilled in changing moods at the flick of a switch. It was getting harder and harder to keep up with him, to maintain a grip on him. Yazoo could feel it – the safety net he had weaved for Kadaj, starting to break as he grew too big, became too different. It was going to fall apart, and Sephiroth was at the bottom, waiting to catch him.

Yazoo threw off his cotton pyjamas and got in the shower, deliberately turning the cold tap all the way, hoping the jet of freezing water would wash away his persistent worries. The water pounded against his face and tore down his body. He shivered and flinched and groaned, resting an arm on the tiled wall and curling up his toes.

"I'm playing tug-of-war with a figment of his imagination," he said, though he couldn't hear his own voice. He was pulling for possession, while Sephiroth was doing the exact same on the other side. Sephiroth was tempting him through dreams and whispers; Yazoo was smothering him every minute he was awake. If it continued like this, if Yazoo didn't change his ways, then he was going to lose his brother to a complete stranger.

Did Kadaj not realise the great lengths Yazoo and Loz went to look after him? Did he even care? Or did their efforts just pale in comparison to what Sephiroth had to offer? What did Sephiroth have, that beat Yazoo's company and Loz's reassurance?

The time to himself gave him no answers, in the end. He needed to pick Loz's brain if he was to get anywhere or better, muster the courage to ask Kadaj himself.

"You're shivering," Loz pointed out unnecessarily, when Yazoo walked out of the bathroom, his hair sopping wet. The eldest brother still looked sleepy, but the bemusement at the sight of breakfast in bed was clear on his face. "What've I missed, Yazoo? Did something happen?"

"Nothing unusual," he replied, deciding it wasn't far from the truth at all. "That's a lot of breakfast you have there."

"So help me." Loz eyed the bread rolls, bacon, scrambled eggs and hash browns. "How did you get to take this food anyway? I thought we're not meant to eat upstairs."

Kadaj sat on the end of his bed, taking a bit of egg for himself. "I have eyes of persuasion," he replied happily. "The woman on front desk loves me. She even gave me these." He delved into his pocket and pulled out a number of hard boiled sweets, as well as a flier depicting an airship. "There's an airship to Rocket Town every two hours from midday. It's 750 gil for the three of us – she said we can get tickets at the front desk. We do have enough money, don't we? Pass me your glass, Loz, let me refill your drink for you."

"This nice behaviour is weirding me out," Loz remarked. He didn't object to Kadaj's offer, though. "I'll be impressed if you even keep it up for an hour."

Yazoo wrung his hair out with only a vague awareness of what he was doing. He knew he was waiting for an opportunity to cut in, to pull Kadaj aside and talk to him. What he was planning to say, he didn't know. He wasn't sure he could do it, look at Kadaj and treat him as if he was anything but his baby brother. Yazoo had never meant to smother, that had never been his intention…but it was clear, he realised, that _he_ needed Kadaj more than Kadaj needed him.

"Kadaj. Do you want to come downstairs with me to buy tickets?"

"Yeah!"

Loz frowned, chewing on a hash brown. "I can come with you—"

"Eat up," Yazoo cut in. "Take it easy, hmm?"

He appeared unnerved and almost frightened at the abundance of kindness this morning, so Yazoo clarified, "I don't want any rehash of yesterday. That means no bossing about, bullying, lecturing (save for this one) or arguing; and definitely no attempts at murder."

His brothers nodded solemnly. Loz looked pained at the mention.

"And no crying," Yazoo added. He held the door open and seized Kadaj's shoulder before he could run off. "See you in a few minutes, Loz."

"750 gil," said Kadaj. He didn't deem it necessary to grant Yazoo with a bit of peace and quiet while he counted out their money. "The flight's five hours, apparently! So we'll get there by evening and—"

"Listen to me for a second," Yazoo interrupted.

Kadaj's eyes narrowed. "I thought you said no lectures!"

"I'm not going to lecture you. I want to ask you for a favour. Kadaj, look at me when I'm talking to you please." He took his brother's shoulders. He'd later look back and recall how thin and fragile those shoulders felt. "Sephiroth talks to you. Even though he's reported dead and you've never met him…"

"Not _talk_, as such," corrected Kadaj. Without warning, he grinned past Yazoo and waved at a man passing them to go downstairs. The man smiled and waved back. "He works on front desk," Kadaj explained.

Yazoo geared him back onto topic; he didn't particularly care for anything else at the moment. "He doesn't talk to you? I thought you held conversations with him?"

"I never said that!" He crossed his arms. "It's more like thoughts. As though he's thinking and speaking on behalf of me, and later I wonder why I said it, and then realise it's him interfering. It's hard to explain."

"That's the favour I want to ask of you." Yazoo was aware of how his breaths got caught in his throat, how his fingers shook at his words. He disguised everything with a smile. "If you can, can you tell me when Sephiroth interferes, and what he's telling you?"

"Sure," Kadaj replied, a little too easily for Yazoo's liking. "A lot of the time I forget, though."

"Just tell me what you can, when you can."

"All right. Do I have to tell Loz too?"

The question hadn't crossed his mind, but the answer came within a second. He didn't even need to think about it. "You tell Loz as well. Or if you're too uncomfortable, tell me and then I'll relay it to him."

"Okay, fine. Can we get airship tickets now? I'd like to reach Nibelheim before I die, thanks."

Yazoo nodded and headed for the stairs.

"Wait up," called Kadaj, and their hands locked in a familiar hold. Yazoo, for the life of him, couldn't remember if he had initiated the contact, had let that terrible tendency to 'smother' get the better of him; or if Kadaj had acted of his own accord, rendering their morning's conversation pointless and blissfully unnecessary.

* * *

**A/N: **I reckon I have about three more chapters to go with this fic. Should take me about....four and a half years??! :) Feel free to review if you like; thanks for reading this far!


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